Nothing wrong with being a plumber. From the replies that I've gotten, I can see that it was taken as an insult. I didn't mean that, but I can see how I fucked up. I was actually trying to disparage the people who think anything they don't want to learn is worthless as being anti-intellectuals. I think they should go to trade school or do anything else that they want to do, because college is not for them. And that would be good too. There are too many college graduates. Quality over quantity.

That's good. College educated does not mean smart (though making mistakes does not mean stupid either). Many are dumbasses, most maybe (probably not though). But I wasn't addressing that. I was criticizing the almost anti-intellectualism that comes with this fad of wanting to change college curriculum because they are super specialized in one specific skill and woefully lacking in others, and feel some sort of superiority from that ignorance. Part of getting a degree is taking a history course. If you don't want to do that, go learn a trade and you won't have to. There's nothing wrong with that. But they should pretend that the stuff that they personally don't want to learn has zero value.

I didn't imply that all. There are plenty of people in the trades that are critical thinking and intelligent. The wisest man I've known was a welder, in fact. My point was that instead of trying to water down a general education, the people who think writing papers is a waste of time should go learn a skill where they won't have to.

It's pretty fucking clear you are. All those downmods you got for your NSA shilling got you pissy?

Yes.

Then take out a loan. And if they can't do that, then how are they going to pay for this new school anyway?

No it won't. You cannot magically get better results by shoving more people at a problem. You'll get a bunch of shitty software that will always break and will cost you more in the long run. Would you buy a disposable car that will completely ruined after three years of constant repairs for a 30% discount? Is your time really so cheap that all the hours of being broke down on the side of the road are worth it?

The interesting problems have not already been solved. May the code monkeys of the world have fun working on yet another inventory and billing system front end AbstractFactoryFactorySingletonFactory class.

That's a good thing. We don't need more useless code monkeys who think making shiny webapps in CSS+JS+HTML is computer science. You don't need calculus to be a programmer, but you'll probably be a shitty programmer if it was too hard for you. Is being a well rounded human being really too much to ask? If you want to learn a trade, be a plumber. Anything having to do with science or math is not served by people who think learning anything is a waste of time.

Side note: this article presupposes that pumping out more developers is a good thing. I'm not convinced it is. Quality over quantity.

Irrelevant. I didn't say that it was always about money, I said that it is independent of the drive for money, and that progress is progress, no matter the reasons for which it was achieved.

What a stupid remark. Intelligence is not at all related to motive. Furthermore, what would it matter if they were in it for the money? Is, say, a scientific conclusion wrong when it's was reached with the goal of earning money? I conjecture that you just resent the idea of money and think it evil, and are projecting your belief on the heroes that you worship, expecting them to hold the same ideals as you do.

And if they get rich by providing people with things or services that they want? I suppose that's just supposed to be bad on the face of it.

So, the bums playing shitty music on the sidewalk, begging for handouts is what people should aspire to?

Because crazy, paranoid people, in my experience, tend to not want to let anyone in on their delusions. Even if you agree with them, they'll call you a CIA\Jewish\Alien plant setting a trap for them. They are arrogant and believe that they are the center of the world, and everyone is out to hurt them.

Besides that, let me rephrase my question: what evidence do you have that this is a common theme in "virtually all" cases? Naming three of the dozens does not establish a trend. Furthermore, claiming that there it just doesn't get reported on doesn't release you from that burden. It just comes off as an old man blaming the ills of the world on that damn Satanic rock-and-roll music.

Sources? I know that the church shooter guy was interested in neo-nazis online, but what other ones are you talking about? I actually think that you're just making that up, though, so you don't have to respond.

What's your real name and address then?

That's stupid. A bigger personal sacrifice perhaps, but there is no way that it's a bigger contribution. Suppose you donate time to a soup kitchen on a Saturday. That's great, good for you[i]![/i] You fed maybe fifty bums. A million dollar donation, though, could keep twenty people doing it full time employed for an entire year. That's over 18,000 hungry bellies filled.

So, which is a ``bigger contribution''? Being visible while helping so that everyone knows what a good person you are, or maximizing the amount of good actually done?