Do We Still Need Universities?

Scroll

Recently I stumbled upon a fascinating interview: philosopher Johnathan Bi talks with Michael Gibson — co-founder of the venture capital fund 1517 and former Thiel Fellowship staffer — about his fundamental critique of the modern university system. Gibson studied at NYU, the University of Chicago, and Oxford. Today he wants to destroy the university system.

Gibson calls universities part of the "Paper Belt" — centralized bureaucracies whose power rests on printed paper. Money from the government, laws from Washington, newspapers from New York, diplomas from universities. His most provocative comparison: modern diplomas are like the Catholic Church's indulgence letters. People believe they'll go to hell if they don't have one. Whether you find that over the top or not — it hits a nerve. How often does a job application ask first about your degree before anyone wants to know what you can actually do?

He also argues that creativity has an expiration date. People are most creative in their late teens and early twenties. Through ever-longer education periods, they waste their most fertile phase collecting certificates. The Thiel Fellowship — $100,000 for young people who leave university — was his counter-proposal. Vitalik Buterin built Ethereum with it, the founders of Figma got their start there.

Here I have to disagree though. I studied computer science in Bolzano, and the most valuable thing about my degree wasn't the coursework. It was the people. Most of my best friends come from uni. Not from lectures, but from cafeterias, study groups, and all-nighters before deadlines. Elon Musk — whom Gibson cites as his star witness against universities — once put it this way: "Colleges are basically for fun and to prove you can do your chores. But they're not for learning." You don't have to agree with Musk on much. But he has a point here: the value of university isn't primarily in the curriculum.

Gibson talks about the next breakthrough, the next revolution. But most people don't found Ethereum. They need a network, orientation, social skills — and yes, also the fun of a formative life phase with peers.

What bugs me about the debate is the false dichotomy. In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, there are tons of part-time degree programs. You can work, gain experience, pursue your own projects — and still study. You don't have to lose "creative years" in lecture halls and still don't have to give up the university environment.

Gibson is right that blind faith in diplomas is outdated. But the solution isn't to burn universities to the ground. The solution is to make them more flexible. Because in the end, it's not the diplomas that count. It's the people you meet along the way.

Inspired by an interview on the Cosmos channel: Johnathan Bi in conversation with Michael Gibson. You can find the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfLj1pHGfT4

Sources