Gizmodo 
Enter your username and password.
Tip your editors:
tips@gizmodo.com
Editorial Director:
Brian Lam | Email | Twitter
Editor:
Jason Chen
Email | AIM | Twitter
Features Editor:
Wilson Rothman
Email | Twitter
Senior Contributing Editors:
Jesus Diaz
Email | AIM | Twitter
Mark Wilson, Reviews
Email | AIM | Twitter
Contributing Editors:
Matt Buchanan
Email | AIM | Twitter
Adam Frucci
Email | Twitter
Sean Fallon
Email | Twitter
Jack Loftus
Email | Twitter
John Herrman
Email | Twitter
Dan Nosowitz
Email
Chris Mascari
Email
Danny Allen
Email | Twitter
Rosa Golijan
Email | Twitter
Chris Jacob
Email
Columnist:
Brendan I. Koerner
Interns:
Don Nguyen
Email
Kyle VanHemert
Email
Comment Intern:
Nick Ellenoff | Email
Comment Account Questions:
Comments@gizmodo.com
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/28/09
It is pretty slow. That and it does not truly add anything. Yeah, it is nice having the Facebook pictures for the contacts, but with the speed of it, the Facebook app is much quicker.
I doubt I will keep it on very long. I will play with it some more and see.
11/28/09
It can be slow but it has tweaks to speed it up. Add on the overclock widget (can you root the MyTouch?) and its pretty damn nice.
Edit: Never mind, looling at what AddressBook does again, they're nothing a like. Pure messenger is still a pretty nice app and I recommend it. Same guy also makes the best weather widget out there.
11/28/09
That, and I am one of those that gadgets are something I don't like playing with too much. I have enough costly hobbies, that bricking phones is not on the top priority. Just like friend trying to convince me to homebrew the paper weight known as a Wii. Just rather not risk it.
11/28/09
Le sigh.
11/28/09
How many people does @jamesmarcusbach employ/manage that are highschool dropouts, and how many of them have college degrees?
It's easy to dismiss the value of an education by citing the people who have made a difference without one. How about listing the many who *do* have degree's that are equally important?
I think that @jamesmarcusbach has made a fundamental flaw in his argument. He says that those on "intellectual autopilot" only study when they're forced to. That's incorrect. They only study subject they care *nothing* about when they're forced too. I don't know of *any* human being that doesn't have passion about *something.* All the author is saying, is taht in 1987, the people working for apple didn't really care much about the job they were doing. That's human nature. Clearly, @JMB was different, he cared about his job, and that's why he excelled.
To his point about college: College isn't for everyone--its unfortunate that not having a degree has a stigma in most societies. If you have a great idea, or have the desire to start a business, or don't want to waste time in college because you already know what you want to do, then by all means work your ass off and make your dreams come true. Some of the most successful businessmen on the planet don't have MBA's let alone formal education.
But if you're dropping out because you don't feel like finishing school, and you're just gonna see what happens, well then thats not a very smart plan. The average salary for a college grad vs a highschool dropout speak for themselves.
11/27/09
11/28/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
I think his assertions that people in degree programs are somehow more likely to be on autopilot is false. He offers no proof, just anecdotal observation.
I think he seriously downplays the disadvantage of not having a degree. For instance, the medical research I am interested involves a deep understanding of both chemistry and medicine. You can't learn these things in a home lab with a ill-gotten cadaver. You need an MD and PhD, not because they are pieces of paper but because the programs provided an environment to experiment that would simply be illegal and impractical to recreate at home.
11/27/09
There's nothing wrong with having a degree. But not having one doesn't automatically condemn a skilled, experienced person to joblessness. That's the point.
(Naturally, as you pointed out, the medical field is one where this tends to not apply. I doubt too many people are considering a homebrew medical degree.)
11/27/09
In my field, I've found many people do that. I can count on this phenomenon. I, who love what I do, am driven to master it. If I loved chemistry and medicine I would master that, too.
When you say "you need an MD and PHD, not because they are pieces of paper" you are not engaging my argument. I'm trying to separate schooling and education. I'm focusing on education, which may be a social process, but ultimately must be personal. I recommend the book The Science of Describing for an interesting take on this. The leading naturalists of the 16th century, many of whom were professors at medical schools, commonly complained that their students applied themselves poorly to the material. They couldn't force their kids to learn well.
Of course, Charles Darwin seems a counter-example, too. He famously dropped out of medical school. He refused to go to the lectures because he found them so boring, but then he made himself into perhaps the most respected naturalist in the world at the time-- writing the definitive works on barnacles.
Or consider the career of Joseph Priestly (see The Invention of Air) who innovated in chemistry and electricity, as you may recall. He was self-educated. So was Voltaire, when he ran his salon and became one of the first great intellectual super-stars.
I understand that you believe in a good education. So do I. To get there, we need to think of it in terms beyond suckling at the teat of external authority. Even though, we both agree, schooling can be helpful.
11/27/09
IMHO, it seems that the author is taking this further, casting serious doubt on the utility of degree programs and intentionally ignoring that his approach simply would not work in many, many fields.
11/27/09
Second, I think gizmodo needs to confer upon you an honorary commenter star STAT.
To engage your point directly, I take issue with the assertion that "some people sit back on their credentials and proceed on the assumption they are "educated" rather than striving to master their art". Perhaps this is true with undergraduate degrees but from what I've seen in the two graduate programs I have been associated with, no one graduates who hasn't striven to become a master of their art. That's probably why they call them master's degrees.
I understand schooling and education are different. However it is very difficult to become an expert in many fields if you do not pass through the schooling process. Likewise, it is very difficult to pass through a graduate curriculum at a major university without also becoming an expert in the subject matter.
11/27/09
11/27/09
Being a self-teacher is so much easier with the internet. Back in the day if you wanted to learn something you had to go to the library and check out books. Know what a card catalog is? Be glad if you don't. Now you can learn just about anything you want to by googling it.
11/28/09
11/27/09
I started two software companies in high school (software for the blind on Apple II's with speech synthesizers and physics educational software). Both very successful. Started a desktop publishing business and freelance graphic design business after dropping-out of UC Berkeley. I have finally settled-down for the past 17 years with my last company - manufacturing and distributing neuroscience research equipment.
Like other commenters, the hardest part has been getting the courage to call myself an electrical engineer when I know I don't even have a bachelors degree.
I credit SteveWoz with lots of my inspiration, and great hardware/software to run it on.
If the job doesn't exist, or they won't hire you, do it in your living room!
11/28/09
But, not everyone has the desire and drive to run their own company.
11/27/09
11/27/09
(There is a theme in there, but I cant quite put my finger on it.)
11/27/09
I had to capitalize HARD, I don't know why. =D
11/27/09
I haven't read his book, but from his tone in this excerpt, he seems to feel that those who toil for years in school to earn a degree aren't really independent thinkers, but sheep in the quest of a piece of paper.
"I talked to coworkers who wanted to further their education, but they typically spoke in terms of getting a new piece of paper, such as a bachelor's degree, a masters, or a PhD."
Right. That's because this is how we've measured and confirmed the educational level of individuals for centuries. Educating yourself is fantastic, but try getting a research or medical position by telling them you've really been boning up on your biochemistry lately.
Granted, an advanced degree on someone's resume is by no means a guarantee of the person's intelligence or ability, but it does demonstrate that they've put in the years of hard work that the degree required. That, more than anything else, speaks to the nature of the person.
11/27/09
11/27/09
I'm speaking in terms of what some people here have been using as the value metric for a degree: "working hard towards a goal for an extended period of time".
11/27/09
Some fields are easier than others to "work" your way into. With others, a degree is simply a requirement to perform the job.
11/27/09
Also, take a long at my other (rather long) post on the subject.
11/27/09
11/27/09
Do you know where science comes from? Well, two of the people most credited with the inspiration for creating the vast community we call "science" were Galileo and Francis Bacon. Both of them strongly bucked against the dominant education traditions of the day.
Bacon specifically rejected Scholasticism, which is an extreme form of the "set of standards" you speak of. He helped overthrow that tradition. I'm glad that he did. I consider myself one of his many heirs, carrying on the spirit of his work.
And did you know that in the middle ages, professional artists had to be certified? That is no longer the case, and we have a richer artistic tradition because of it.
Conventional thinkers dislike buccaneers. They are pushy and impolite. That is as it should be. Stay barricaded behind your city gate, if you like. We rule the waves.
11/27/09
We all practice psychology, every day. It's our birthright as humans.
11/27/09
I suggest you read more about the history of educated people. Please don't think you have to enroll in an actual history class to learn the basics of educational history. You can start with Wikipedia, perhaps.
Education is so much more interesting than anything that can be measured with a standardized test.
11/27/09
This is a subject in which you obviously outclass me- you've lived it and literally written the book on it. I'm neither as experienced nor accomplished as yourself, but I will try to make a few points to respond to your well-written statements.
I think that the first and most important thing to realize is that almost no one will be you. Almost no one will be Richard Branson. I won't quote you statistics with which you're almost certainly familiar, but there are definite and measurable disadvantages that face the average US high school dropout, most of whom will not become focused, skilled software programmers.
Traditional, brick-and-mortar education systems allow young people a place to discover what it is they enjoy, and pursue it in a structured manner. I understand that it wasn't for you, and certainly isn't for everyone, but for me, the joy of learning was never dampened by the fact that my education took place in a traditional setting.
I don't want this to degrade into an argument (one that I'd no doubt lose), and I hope you don't take my comments to be attacks on yourself or your ideas, which I hope to better understand after reading the book. I simply feel that, for the vast majority of individuals, traditional education is a path to betterment, not a restraint of true potential.
Thanks again, heading out to order the Kindle edition of your book.
Unless, of course, you wanted to send me a signed copy. =D
07:42 PM
So you've done enough work to be educated. That's wonderful. So has everyone who has ever been educated in and out of universities. Whether you do it in institutions or not, it's largely the same thing. Institutions simply have more resources open to you, more experienced mentors available to help you.
And as for "liberating thought"? Well, you claim to have done some reading on the history of education, so I won't pretend to tell you that the brightest intellectual times in human history were where large institutions flourished with great resources, and spread and linked ideas. The invention of the medieval university, the flourishing of renaissance science, the enlightenment schools... And conversely the darkest intellectual times were when those institutions were dark, when people were alone and didn't have the spread of ideas to stimulate them, or great teachers to inspire them.
I honestly don't understand what makes reading Nietzsche outside of a classroom setting more "liberating" than reading it in a classroom, then discussing it, then talking with a professor who's studied it himself for 40 years.
Good for you for ending up where you are. And good for you for writing a book. But your comments here are selling it in a way that really turn me off of you and the whole "buccaneer ruling the intellectual waves" frivolity. Many stupid people are pushy and impolite too. It's not a hallmark of greatness.
11/27/09
11/27/09
What really attracts me to history is that it's one-way logic: all past and present events can affect the future, but what you do in the future cannot affect the past.
I also tend to also take the classes that interest me one way or the other, and I find that I learn more out of that experience than just taking a class for industrial workplace purposes.
11/27/09
11/27/09
11/27/09
Psychologically, this thread is quite compelling.