How to learn all your life

Artwork by my sister, Kate Faldin.

“Do people need to keep educating themselves?”

“Yes,” my podcast guest replied. “We all should keep watching high-quality videos on YouTube, listening to podcasts, doing Coursera lectures, reading books and articles…”

The funniest thing is that I didn’t ask about that.

I thought my guest would go into detail about how important it’s to keep learning even after you’ve graduated — meaning, keep doing your PhDs and MAs — after all, it’s what you learn after you think you know it all that counts.

But my guest didn’t even blink replying to my question about education. Learning, in his view, is all about self-education.

Think about it. What can university teach you? The top programs in Media & Communications don’t have a course dedicated to TikTok and Clubhouse. Yet, they should.

The top business programs don’t have VCs sitting in lecture halls, giving real money (or real advice) to students. It’s ironic to what extent business programs are theoretical these days.

And with the world accelerating, there’s just no way those universities can catch up. Neither should they.

The university — an institutionalized place of education — has a different purpose. It’s not made to teach you about what’s out there, regardless of what we are…