[stereolambda]

I think he specifically means that in Germany (if it's anything like another European country where I've studied in) you study one subject with a rigid set of classes organized by your department only. If there are some additional courses, like Philosophy for example, they are very general, dumbed down for what they think is suitable for typical student of your department, and most often not taught by the top person the university could offer.

Contrast this with a system where you aren't tied to your department and can go to classes wherever. In practice there are ways around that in Europe, but it's either niche "elite" programs or pushing "special cases" through university bureaucracy. Also, the whole spirit of the system probably increases mental siloization of the departments.