[bachbach]

I can't believe this is still a middle class meme, some ideas die hard.

Universities have been sliding downhill for a long time and they know why because they operate the nightclub protocol for entry.

Geography and formal education not what links the people I mentioned. Correlation, causation, you know the mantra.

[jacques_chester]

I didn't say anything about formal education or credentialling.

The original and still key purpose of universities is to gather academics together.

Teaching was a by-product of that origin. Would-be students flocked to the cities where scholars had clustered and eventually, folks started to organise.

The word "university" means "of one", or "guild", or "group". That reflects its origin as a club for academics.

Literally people whose reason for being at university is to be in a club of people focusing on these sorts of questions consistently.

The closest alternative are the many and various think-tanks, most of which are intertwined with academia.