[namanbharadwaj]

>Don’t outsource your future to a big institution. You need to figure it out for yourself.

Discouraging high school graduates from going to college is just bad for society. Entrepreneurs are essential, but I would argue that the most profound advancements in STEM fields come out of universities. Those advancements tend to be in highly abstract fields (e.g. physics, math), where there is no immediate applicable benefit, but there may well be one in the future.

Students should go to universities to gain a theoretical foundation in STEM fields -- that's how we find young researchers. And those who decide that research isn't for them will nevertheless gain a strong intellectual foundation that is hard (but not impossible) to acquire otherwise.

[untilHellbanned]

I work at the intersection of many STEM fields at a prestigious university. I think very little important research is coming from universities anymore. The paper publishing factory, again credentialing, has taken over. I think we need a renaissance in STEM but strongly believe this will happen outside of academia.

[Jimmy]

How do we get around the issue of funding though? A lot of innovative projects come out of universities because governments give them money without expecting an immediate return on investment. How can we create a non-academia system that has the resources to take on big, risky ventures without that system becoming isomorphic to academia?