[shirro]

Different sorts of lessons. A lot of formal education is limited by the need to produce moderately competent fodder for cubical farms. It isn't always about producing the best individuals but satisfying the needs of society. Society needs many more Java burger flippers than it needs Turing award winners. There are obviously academic pathways within formal education to pursue individual excellence but they don't suit everyone, especially if they are more practically minded. Competitive activities like hackathons or participating in open source projects seem like a great place to pursue individual excellence. Even better if you are fortunate enough to work in a challenging area. I think our expectations of formal education are often unreasonable. It is a foundation, not the complete answer.