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We might have a definition problem, where some institutions that offer what amounts to a technical education (i.e. with almost no mandatory "theoretical" courses) call themselves "colleges".

In the workplace I definitely experience the difference between one who received a formal education, in the sense of raw theory, and one who studied how to "do" things. Both are useful, but they serve different purposes.

You are right. It is also my experience that some graduates from technical schools are much more knowledgeable than some graduates from college. But the point stands, the two types of schools are serving different needs. We need both.

One of my professors made a point about college: it's not about getting a job or not, but rather, being a button-pusher or understanding what you're doing. It's way too easy to become a "button-pusher". I am 100% confident that I could successfully perform a relatively complex cardiac surgery on a patient with about 2-3 weeks of training and some good staff. "Cut here, tie that together, done".

The thing is, there is a HUGE difference between what I described and actually understanding what one is doing, in the deepest meaning of that word. That's what you go to college for: to pass on that deep knowledge. You don't go to college to "get a job".

So the problem really is with employers: why do they insist on a college degree when they could ask for a technical school diploma, or whatever. There's nothing wrong with college per se, IMO, as I think you'll agree.

If I may, the article would be much more enjoyable with pictures of the animals discussed populating the margins. I am constantly googling for said animals :)

    The last pair of great auks had hidden themselves on a
    huge rock in the northern Atlantic. In 1844, a trio of
    Icelandic bounty hunters found them in a crag, incubating
    an egg. Two of the hunters strangled the adults to get to
    the egg, and the third accidentally crushed its shell
    under his boot.

Without being too cynical, that exemplifies part of Human Nature in a nutshell.