I graduated from college four years ago. College is a mixed bag and it seems right now that the necessity of a degree in modern life is facing a backlash. I’ve read in a few places how a degree is simply a waste of your time and money. I’m not prepared to offer my thoughts on that subject. I can vouch for the fact that college offers a lot more than just a piece of paper to hang on your wall.
One of the greatest is a group of people who share many of your own interests and have a decent head on their shoulders. Not only will these people become life long friends they’re also fantastic sounding boards. Many of my best ideas and thoughts were further improved by sharing them with others.
After working on a project for any lengths of time one is bound to attach some emotions to it. Emotions that will prevent you from approaching it rationally and dispassionately at times. Familiarity with a project can also mean that it isn’t being reviewed as carefully as it could be. An excellent example is the spelling error in an essay you’ve reviewed multiple times. Since you’ve seen the words thousands of times and you know what is supposed to be there you overlook the error. Another pair of eyes and a mind fresh to the project can help you pick out the errors as well as help you approach it from a different light or direction.
Plato and his tutor Socrates realized the value of dialogue. Through question and answer, the slow process of cutting an idea down into its constituent parts, understanding it, and then rebuilding it allowed for the discovery of the “best” way to live. This is one of the reasons that our universities, colleges, and laboratories are communal. Even the lone genius, say Einstein, works in an environment where their work is scrutinized by others.
The access to easy dialogue is one of the things I miss most from university. I find that my ideas aren’t as clear or understandable because they haven’t had the benefit of others input.
Thankfully, the internet allows for even the most isolated person to engage in dialogue with others. Regardless of what your field is you can find a group for it on-line where others meet, discuss, and move the field forward. In addition mail service and the exchange of letters is another way to have a lasting , fulfilling dialogue.
I have been lucky enough to start up correspondences with people (on and off line) that have helped my shape my ideas as well as goals. I encourage you to make the jump from lone practitioner, of whatever it is, into groupee. You’ll find yourself challenged more often but you’ll often find the results more rewarding as well.
