I was born intelligent, but education ruined me.

@thebigk • Oct 27, 2024

Oct 27, 2024

3.1K

So, that's a famous quote you'll spot on T-shirts all around the world! Let's give it some serious thought.

Do you think education ruined you? Did it kill your creativity? Did it narrow down your focus? Edison never went to school - yet he could claim 1093 patents. So is the case with many achievers.

What do you say?

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KINETIC_JOULES

@kinetic-joules-Qk9kmk • Jul 17, 2008

I say it somewhat ruined my creativity, but if it did anything, it enabled me to think more clearly.
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Yamini L

@yamini-uMEVDQ • Jul 18, 2008

Present Day's Educational system gives no importance for creativity..If you are capable of remembering facts and figures ythen you get through..No recognition or appreciation is given for the one who comes up with a new idea..We are restricting ourselves to the prescribed syllabus and not ready to think beyond it..All this is because of this educational system..Einstein was thrown out of his school because he refused to study whatever is there in the syllabus and he went beyond that..Hence,this system needs a revamp..
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Ashraf HZ

@Ash • Jul 18, 2008

Are we talking about education as a whole? or specific levels?

We can't classify "education" as one whole body. Different countries & societies have their own ways on how to implement them. Things get a little more similar at higher levels, I suppose. I remember during my kindergarten days, we played lots of lego *grin*
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Kaustubh Katdare

@thebigk • Jul 18, 2008

ash
Are we talking about education as a whole? or specific levels?

We can't classify "education" as one whole body. Different countries & societies have their own ways on how to implement them. Things get a little more similar at higher levels, I suppose. I remember during my kindergarten days, we played lots of lego *grin*
Oh, very good point Ash! 😀 I totally missed it. Probably, we should narrow down the scope to the education that we received in school/colleges.

Surely, we can't classify education.

[Btw, lego thing reminds me of Larry Page - I read somewhere that he had build a computer case using lego bricks when he was a kid]

😲 Ash => Larry Page (beta)? 😁
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Ashraf HZ

@Ash • Jul 18, 2008

Ah well, I have a knack for losing lego pieces *sigh* 😛 Lego (and other similar building block toys, such as Meccano) are probably the best ways to express your technical creativity. I believe these days, Lego Mindstorms are the "in" thing.

Remember, your learning experience also happens at home. You can't blame school for diminishing your creativity, when you have ample opportunity at home 😉 Thus, your family plays a big factor during your upbringing.
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sauravgoswami

@sauravgoswami-UAfTlI • Jul 18, 2008

its all how u take,education doesnt stop at school or college,its a continous development,it differs person to person and creativity cant be diminished it is in-born,those remarks are targetted at school/college education,well every country has a successfull education system tats why there presence is felt!!!
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Kaustubh Katdare

@thebigk • Jul 19, 2008

MaRo
I thought this goes only Egypt!

But it seems a global problem, Yes, this what happened with me but always you have the chance to rebuild yourself.
We are a global forum and you're bound to find 'global' problems here 😉 .

Well, my experience has been different. I have interviewed many young, fresh graduates who flaunt their 'topper' status. But a 10 minute discussion will tell you one thing - they have never gone beyond their textbooks! That's sad!

I remember Sabeer Bhatiya (the founder of Hotmail) said the following in one of his interviews:-

"Once our professor asked all of us to read two books and write a report about it. I submitted my report and got a very low grade. The professor told me - what you've written is just a summary of what's said in the book. I expected you to write your about own thoughts / learning you derived from the book."

Granted that education system helps us understand the things in better way. But does it really makes us think about new things? Something that has not been done before? Or does it help us improve our imagination so that we can do the things in a better way?
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gohm

@gohm-F3UUpP • Jul 19, 2008

Two different things being compared. Intelligence and knowledge are seperate skill sets. One can be highly intelligent without much knowledge or have a lot of knowledge and not be very intelligent. I myself prefer intelligence because unlike knowledge it cannot be taught.
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sauravgoswami

@sauravgoswami-UAfTlI • Jul 21, 2008

Thts ok buddy,but u shud also be keen to take knowledge or else your intelligence will not always make u succeed,and yes we can increase our intelligence its all your interest.e.g.Founder of Mcdonald,froma retd.clerk to food-chain magnate
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Itanium

@itanium-haHgZn • Aug 2, 2008

today, i dont remember anything that i learnt in my schools and colleges... everything vanished the next moment after the exams completed. No Newtons laws, donno what ohms law means.. donno how human digestive system works...allergic algebras..calculus ?!?!? all learnt in physis,biology & maths... what to do..learnt everything for the sake of exams and forgot.

i'm not sure if i was born intelligent.. but for sure the education ruined me !
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mahul

@mahul-ZxpiLA • Aug 2, 2008

Education has certainly helped me channel my thought process. But in doing so, it has also narrowed my thought process and limited it to that very channel. So can't say whether it ruined me.
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sauravgoswami

@sauravgoswami-UAfTlI • Aug 3, 2008

mate,dont limit ur education to profession or wat u learnd in collge,education is on a day-to-day basic even walking in a park in proper way is educating and learning exp
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ankur8819

@ankur8819-Y8pKwX • Aug 4, 2008

I don't know what education means to everyone here...but to me...its not just the bookish stuff we read in colleges and schools....Its much more than that..yeah if you talk about the bookish education I feel i am really ruined.because i dont see that education helping me..The word education in general means everything you know learn ..that includes learning from other people ,learning from your surroundings etc..
I feel for a rider knowing when to change the gear ,knowing about the speed he should drive..knowing the speed which he can handle , knowing about safety rules..etc etc....is also education...Education is universal ..!!!
who taught Mr. ambani the principles of managment and leadeship..he never joined any IIM ...its just that he knew..how to handle people through his experience and skill... !!!
So i feel yeah to some extent bookish knowledge is required but this in no way can guarantee succesS..!!
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technospartan

@technospartan-Pa3ZNm • Aug 5, 2008

as biggie says this is a global issue we have to analyse EDUCATION on a global level.like cean ankur says education is a very different aspect in every society,we cant really say that education really ruins your creativity.ah yes an educational system that guides you only on mugging mugging & mugging is surely going to dampen your creativity.mr.dhirubhai ambani had never been to any IIM and thats realy true,but you cant say that MBA has got no scope!!!!!!(i know no one would say that 😎).so my verdict is that education (all round) never ruins your creativity and imagination.
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vivekji

@vivekji-ghMs9H • Aug 5, 2008

I would like to quote Einsten's words here, He said "The true purpose of education is to train the mind think."

"Theorys or figures that can be refered in books need not be remembered"

Well, that made a Nobel lauerate.
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sauravgoswami

@sauravgoswami-UAfTlI • Aug 7, 2008

impressive!!!but do guys in collge follow this????,m not sure 99% guys study hard to get a secure job!!
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sauravgoswami

@sauravgoswami-UAfTlI • Aug 9, 2008

Good thought!!! if u go by impirical ways then poeple get educate for personal gains gone are the days when they get educate for knowledge
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vijayrock

@vijayrock-oRDtL8 • Aug 22, 2008

The present education system adopted in my state just grades the person who could remember all the lines in the textbook and writes the same without change in the exam paper.THere is nothing to do with the creativity.A person who gets full marks is graded as brilliant and who gets low marks is graded as poor in studies.Education has nothing to do with the creativity,as far my TN state is concerned.
We,Indians have to progress a lot when education is concerned.Everybody is born with the same IQ.But with the constant bullying by the teachers,peers,parents for getting low marks,the student loses confidence and begins to think that he is not intelligent.
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Kaustubh Katdare

@thebigk • Aug 22, 2008

Vijay - this is a universal problem actually. I believe when CE grows big, we'll be able to bring some positive change to the whole education system around the world.

In my opinion, textbooks do help us understand the stuff around us. But they fail to teach you what to do with them.
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Ankita Katdare

@abrakadabra • Aug 23, 2008

I totally agree with what Vijayrock has to say.
But, I think the title of this thread does not hold true.

A recent show on Discovery channel about the "Genius" described that genius is not born. Anyone who is nurtured or brought up in a certain way or told to learn things in a specific pattern can become a so-called genius.

I think you would agree that without education, you & I would not have been able to express our views here in this manner. 😉

Education doesn't necessarily mean a formal one.
What we learn from day-to-day activities practically is also Education.
And we are students for a lifetime....... A thought.
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kedarjk

@kedarjk-R7FdZW • Aug 24, 2008

I am not agree with what Vijayrock has mentioned.
Think about the people who don't get education. At least the learned people like us can earn our livings. Atleast we realized that we are much capable of.

And as "Abrakadabra" said, "We are students for a lifetime". Then we still have lots of time to save ourselves from getting ruined... 😉
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Anoop Mathew

@anoop-FRTf1L • Nov 8, 2012

Education never ruins anyone! We learn each day of life, thats education too. But the curriculum does all the ruining part.

P.S.: Just pushing this thread to see what the new folks at CE have to say...
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Jeffrey Arulraj

@jeffrey-xA7lUP • Nov 9, 2012

Syllabus followed by education system is killing me God save ME

Guys real hard to find one practical application of things we learn around us most of the things are upgraded beyond a great level now
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CE Designer

@ce-designer-BWq0yl • Nov 9, 2012

anoopthefriend
Education never ruins anyone! We learn each day of life, thats education too. But the curriculum does all the ruining part.

P.S.: Just pushing this thread to see what the new folks at CE have to say...
Well said #-Link-Snipped-#, when engineers graduate and enter the real world and encounter real problems we try to apply textbook solutions to them. Its how we were trained. But my design teacher was Indian and he tried to get us to think and not use the text book. We had no exams, so we didn't have to cram. instead he gave us case studies to analyse.
I think case studies are the BEST way to do engineering. Prof. Krishna Athre, he was an engineer in India, went on to lecture in Germany and then came to Trinidad. God bless him for doing something different, it helped me alot.

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zaveri

@zaveri-5TD6Sk • Nov 11, 2012

#-Link-Snipped-# #-Link-Snipped-#

well said ! education never ruins anyone, but it is the curriculum which spoils matters.

Examinations are proving to be one ridiculous method of evaluation. case-studies and project works can yield better results.

In India, the main culprits are the class tenth and twelveth board examinations. they pressurise the students so much, that they are forced to do all sorts of dumbass things, apart from real learning to clear these exams.

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Ramani Aswath

@ramani-VR4O43 • Nov 11, 2012

The_Big_K
Do you think education ruined you? Did it kill your creativity? Did it narrow down your focus? Edison never went to school - yet he could claim 1093 patents. So is the case with many achievers. What do you say?
On the contrary.
Andhra University was an amazing place. A truly multi disciplinary place. We used to work with not only our seniors and the PhD scholars in our own area, but as well with other science and engineering departments. Because of the PhD programmes all labs will be working 24x7. We juniors, who helped out with experiments somre times use to nap on iron defence camp cots in a corner of the lab itself.
Incidentally the library had a great collection of books.
I found there this seminal book on creativity:
Osborn, Alex (1953). Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Problem Solving.
I bought this later. It has been a bible for me. I still use the principles given by Osborn.

I learnt so many creative engineering problem solving techniques there. My stay there incredibly widened my horizon. The university sent us to all the interesting industries in Vizag like Caltex Oil Refinery, the workshops of the S.W.Railway and the Naval base. We also made study visits to steel plants and chemical industries.

As an engineer, I consider Edison as my hero.
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MaRo

@maro-Ce3knx • Feb 10, 2023

I thought this goes only Egypt!

But it seems a global problem, Yes, this what happened with me but always you have the chance to rebuild yourself.
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