[matthewdgreen]

This seems like one of those Chesterton’s fence things where you say “how could it be bad for America to force a bunch of people with no aptitude for STEM to major in STEM or else have a limited education” and then you find out.

[ITB]

If someone doesn’t have aptitude for higher education, they shouldn’t get it. Higher education is not some universal right. But those who do get free public higher education should do it in a field that has clear downstream economic impact.

[dkqmduems]

Just to be clear. All those adtech companies are built on the shoulders of people who studied fine arts. See the history of advertising.

[spondylosaurus]

I'm all in favor of studying fine arts, but this isn't quite accurate: advertisers (i.e., brands who run ads) rely on people with arts and humanities training—it's not a coincidence that the smallest unit of advertising is called a "creative"!

But adtech (i.e., the infrastructure underpinning digital advertising) is all data and code, nothing artistic at all. Check out any RTB spec: https://github.com/InteractiveAdvertisingBureau/openrtb2.x/b...

[danaris]

While it's true that the individual employees creating ads probably studied the arts in some way or other (not necessarily fine arts; "graphic design" is a major not generally included in that category that would absolutely fit an advertising creator), the people who actually run them probably studied either STEM, or, even more likely, business/management.

[joebob42]

Could you elaborate more? It isn't super obvious to me the connection between fine art and ad tech.

[pstuart]

I agree with your first statement but you lose me at the end.

There's been the push that everybody should go to college, which is well-intended but misses the mark.

Everybody who can learn and grow from it should go. Those who can't should have access to vocational training. They shouldn't be denied because they can't afford it. The boomers got affordable education that they could pay for with a part time job and graduate debt-free. That seemed to work out well for them and the country as a whole.

As for who should pay for it, as a public good it should primarily be payed for by the public coffers. But treating college as a glorified trade school (clear downstream economic impact) is short-sighted.