The Disadvantages of an Elite Education

Our best universities have forgotten that the reason they exist is to make minds, not careers
By William Deresiewicz


It didn’t dawn on me that there might be a few holes in my education until I was about 35. I’d just bought a house, the pipes needed fixing, and the plumber was standing in my kitchen. There he was, a short, beefy guy with a goatee and a Red Sox cap and a thick Boston accent, and I suddenly learned that I didn’t have the slightest idea what to say to someone like him. So alien was his experience to me, so unguessable his values, so mysterious his very language, that I couldn’t succeed in engaging him in a few minutes of small talk before he got down to work. Fourteen years of higher education and a handful of Ivy League degrees, and there I was, stiff and stupid, struck dumb by my own dumbness. “Ivy retardation,” a friend of mine calls this. I could carry on conversations with people from other countries, in other languages, but I couldn’t talk to the man who was standing in my own house.

Ở bên cô ấy

Anh và em chia tay. Vì sao. Có thể vì em ở quá xa. Có thể vì anh ở quá xa. Có thể vì anh bảo, anh không dành tình cảm cho em nữa và em tin là thật. Có thể, em bảo, em căm ghét anh và anh cố tình tin là thật.

Cũng có thể là vì cô ấy. Vì em thấy anh đi bên cô ấy. Vì em thấy anh cười với cô ấy, mua quà cho cô ấy, gọi cho cô ấy. Và em tự bảo mình, anh thực sự đang thích cô ấy đấy thôi!

Writing instruction from Alan

I would advise you not to let this go until the last minute. It’s not a BS assignment by any means. You did a credible job on your mid-term reflection essay, and I expect an even better job on this last paper. You must get me to take what you say very seriously. That starts with taking yourself seriously. “Credibility” begins at home, but it must also reveal itself in the written word.

Writing Guide from ChiChi

Studying Tips

1. quit fb asap. run away from it! turn off email too - life can wait while you write this paper.
…
2. get a spray bottle. the moment you want to sleep, spray it on your face. best if it’s face mist (has moisturizing effect), but water is okay too. no caffeinated water in the bottle - if any, this kind of liquid should be taken orally for maximum effectiveness.