The 3 Paths to Learning. And why elites over-value education

There are three paths to learning:

1. Some things can only be learned through education.

   • We just don’t live long enough to figure everything out ourselves. So, we need to copy the learnings of those who did the work over generations.

2. Some things can only be learned through experience.

   • Some things we just have to learn ourselves. No amount of book knowledge can build physical, mental, or emotional skills.

3. Some things can only be learned through time.

   • Even the most intense education or experience can’t teach us what actually living through decades of history will.

These paths progress from learning focusing on knowledge (the education path) to learning focusing on wisdom (the time path). We could even probably label them as knowledge, experience, and wisdom.

But for now let’s just call them a continuum. Because there are paths that sit between education and experience (such as on-the-job training) and between experience and time (such as mentorship).

How much we value these paths depends on many things, but one of the most powerful is age. The older we get, the more we tend to value the learning that comes from experience, and then from time. In other words, as we age, we tend to shift from valuing knowledge to valuing wisdom.

Let’s put that aside for now and focus on our current society, and especially one of the most contentious segments of it: our elites. Which learning path do our current elites value most?

The answer is: education.

We’ve all seen it. The focus on credentials, degrees, and titles. The way they value someone who went to the right schools or was chosen for the prestigious positions rather than those who have fought for success the hard way.

This matters because education is different from the other two learning paths in several important ways:

1. Education is the path that focuses the most on knowledge and least on wisdom.

   • This may explain some of the mess we’re in.

2. Education is the least individual path.

   • It’s the only path that relies entirely on external sources. It therefore strongly encourages a shared mindset.

3. Education is the only path that’s self-reinforcing.

   • Since it relies on external sources, everyone who learns from the same sources reinforce each other’s beliefs about that learning.

4. Education is the only path that can be controlled.

   1. Since it relies on external sources, if you control the sources, you can control how other people learn and think.

   2. Education is therefore also vulnerable to attempts to control it.

Since learning by experience and by time are individual learning paths, they’re fundamentally different, and don’t share the same weaknesses. For instance, even if we could force someone to perform a task, we wouldn’t be able to control what they learn from it.

Our elites claim to be the ones that know what’s best for all of us. But if they really did that, they would value all the learning paths equally, not just education.

So why don’t they?

If you look at the list above, you may think the answer is that education can be controlled. But this is just the cherry on top for the elites, not the main reason.

The reason our elites focus on education above all other learning paths is simple: Because education is the only learning path that can be bought.

Learning from experience and time must be earned. And elites hate having to earn anything.

They believe they’re entitled to rule over us. They hate the very idea of having to work for their supper.

And the elites hate that.

They can’t tolerate the possibility that they’ll have to compete with people who are more talented than they are, or who will just work harder or longer at it.

If it takes an elite longer to get their degree than someone else it doesn’t ultimately matter. Because they got the paper, and no one looks to see how slow they were getting it. But if they have to compete on skill and experience, they can lose to those smarter, faster, or more motivated than they are.

This is one of the reasons the old rich hate the new rich. The new rich worked for it. The socialite stigma against the new rich isn’t just because they got their hands dirty; it’s because their willingness to do work means they’re competition.

This means the progressive doctrine of demonizing merit isn’t an accident. And it’s not just an outgrowth of identity politics.

As the progressive culture morphed from a people’s movement to a wholly captured priesthood of the elites, its focus changed from learning by experience (the 60’s drug movement) to learning by education (modern-day credentialism).

Credentialism is an intentional drive by the elites to cut the legs out from under their real competition: people who earned what they have, or who have the capacity to out-earn the elites.

And once credentialism takes hold, learning by experience and time isn’t just considered lower priority, it’s spat upon. Because it encourages competition.

Which modes of learning societies value affects their growth and internal dynamics.

I suspect societies that value the experience and time paths more are likely to be more stable than those that don’t. That’s just a guess, though; if I ever take the time to form a more coherent thought on it, I’ll let you know.

But there are more obvious effects, which we’ve all been living through as the education learning path has come to dominate our society.

Look again at the ways learning by education differs from the other paths, and some side-effects of prioritizing education over other learning paths become obvious:

• Disdain for Wisdom

  • We see this in the constant attacks on traditional wisdom and mores. To our current elites, “the science” is infinitely better than thousands of years of accumulated medical, social, and political wisdom.

• Groupthink

  • When every elite learns from the same sources, they think the same. And they expect everyone else to. Those that don’t are obviously less “educated” - and therefore stupid.

• Mob Mentality

  • It’s not enough that everyone think the same, they must also support each other. If they don’t, others may question all of them. So, simply avoiding disagreement isn’t enough; those who don’t actively promote the common sources must be punished.

• Control

  • Once learning by education is lauded over other paths, the education system is a prime target for psychopaths bent on control.

These are not healthy societal trends. But the drive to worship education as the only valid learning path drives the trends.

The answer is simple but not easy: We need to value, and teach our children to value, all the learning paths, not just the one that elites use to prop up their status.

Learning through experience and learning through time need to become cool again.

For example, we can focus more of our “education” efforts and budgets on vocational schools, apprenticeships, mentorships, internships, travel abroad, and similar programs that value experience over book knowledge.

Instead of treating older workers like they’re too old to do the job, we can seek assistance and guidance from them to learn from their experience and yes, age. And instead of treating traditional knowledge as “old wives’ tales”, we can try it (and compare the effects with those of “the science”), or use it as a starting point for new research.

Easier said than done, I know. But knowing the cause of the disease is the first step toward curing it.