I always viewed grades as a way of establishing intellectual hierarchy, which probably wasn't the most healthy way to look at them; a way of deciding where amongst my peers I stacked up. In University, we had class ranks.
Those with the best grades and thus highest rank would be given the best opportunities for wage-slave class work. Eventually people hit University and split up according to passion, goals as well as grades. Of course, there were exceptions; entrepreneurs were the folks that buck the system and don't need grades to succeed. In a sense, the grades were exchanged for food stamps and toys, only later in life. The winners drove the lambos and the losers are still living in their parents' basements.
> Those with the best grades and thus highest rank would be given the best opportunities for wage-slave class work
I don't believe that this observation is true. Those who got into tech, bitcoins etc. at the right time got the lambos - not the most brilliant ones. Tech is full people with inert brains who make much much more mone than some of the most brilliant scientists out there.
It has been good time to be into plumbing instead of astrophysics if you are optimising for money BTW. Just like knowing ReactJS has provided better income opportunities than being rocket scientist.
> Just like knowing ReactJS has provided better income opportunities than being rocket scientist.
that's because rocket science requires massive capital investment for said scientist to achieve anything - this aint no more backyard rocketry in the modern day.
ReactJS provides better income because it does not require massive capital investments on the dev to produce usable output.
The idea that societal benefit should match financial benefit is just a story made up because of the inclination that people who are moral should be rewarded etc. It has no economic basis.
I always viewed grades as a way of establishing intellectual hierarchy, which probably wasn't the most healthy way to look at them; a way of deciding where amongst my peers I stacked up. In University, we had class ranks.
Those with the best grades and thus highest rank would be given the best opportunities for wage-slave class work. Eventually people hit University and split up according to passion, goals as well as grades. Of course, there were exceptions; entrepreneurs were the folks that buck the system and don't need grades to succeed. In a sense, the grades were exchanged for food stamps and toys, only later in life. The winners drove the lambos and the losers are still living in their parents' basements.