[Swizec]

What about people who do both at the same time? Personally I find this model to really work for me, Uni opens up my eyes to what exists out there, and I dig deep into the specifics of what piques my interest on my own time.

I find that most programmers who are only self taught are missing breadth. They're great with what they encountered and had to try, but usually suck at even knowing of the existence of what lies just beyond the edge.

Or at least the ones I've had the pleasure of talking to :)

[randomdata]

> They're great with what they encountered and had to try, but usually suck at even knowing of the existence of what lies just beyond the edge.

That is one area where the internet could use improvement.

Google can teach you anything... if you know what you're looking for; but there doesn't seem to be a good system for exploration beyond that. If you follow the right discussion/link services and keep a general watchful eye out, the stuff out beyond the edge will eventually flow to you, but there is certainly room for improvement.

I believe it is a solvable problem and the company that gets it right will have amazing growth potential.

[Daniel_Newby]

Wikipedia's List of Algorithms page is a start. The category pages are often useful too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_algorithms

You can also look up what textbooks are used at major universities, then look up their tables of contents on Amazon or Google Books.