[JoeAltmaier]

Yes! College is run by ... wait for it ... people who were good at College. So its a tight positive feedback loop. There's nearly nobody there who empathizes with the rest of us. And it spins on its merry way, getting stranger and stranger.

[khedoros1]

I guess what I don't understand quite what you mean.

The lectures themselves weren't that useful to me, although learning to interpret the pattern of confusion was invaluable (like looking at a code diff, where it doesn't tell you what the problem is, just what the difference is). Often, even the textbooks weren't (another exercise in pattern matching, and comparing with other sources). I spent a lot of time learning the material in my own way, then learning the mapping between my understanding and the way that it was being taught in class.

The topics in class acted as a decent map of the "tech tree" involved in the pile of topics to study, and a possibly-appropriate order to learn them in.

Everyone thinks differently. Do you have a more efficient idea an "expert" to convey a large number of concepts to a large group of people? What's your preferred method of learning?

[JoeAltmaier]

I'd prefer to learn from a 'teacher'. The sort of person who specializes in transmitting knowledge, adapting to the learners issues, bridging gaps between one concept and another.

Learning from folks who did well in college means they may think everyone will do well if they repeat their experience. Which is a far cry from 'teacher'. Heck, its not even 'expert'.