I’ve been second guessing my decision to take on another major and stay in college for one more year. Not because of the all-too-common “What is philosophy useful for?” inquisition, but because I’m restless.
I realized that while most or at least some college students are timid about entering the “real world” after school, I only wish I could get there faster. Most kids didn’t know what they wanted to do with their lives in high school, but I did. Most people in college are not even entirely sure what they will end up spending their life on, but I do. I don’t think that this makes me inherently or skillfully better in this respect, but rather I think I am fortunate. I am fortunate to have the clarity of passion and purpose which I possess and which drives me forward.
I have been reading more lately. I finish a new book about every two weeks now, interspersed with my busy schedule. The most valuable part of reading that I have noticed (and hadn’t previously from past reading experiences) is the advantage of additional viewpoints. It’s easy to look at the world through your own eyes, but it’s not as easy to look through someone else’s eyes. Not only can you see some of the same things from different perspectives, but you see altogether different things.
I have long been a reader of Joel on Software and I have valued his insights into software development and management. Only recently, however, have I come to realize that many times I think the same way he does. When I read about “Smart, and Gets Things Done”, I thought to myself: “yeah, that seems reasonable”. It didn’t really sink in for me until recently. Getting Things Done isn’t just some side-effect of a productive person. It’s what makes the person productive. It is passion and an insatiable inner need to move forward.
Too many people lack forward motion. Young grad students studying philosophy are more often than not just treading water — they keep trying and they may learn a lot, but they aren’t going anywhere. This bothers me. I understand the desire to learn about various subjects and gain a perspective, but there is a point where every productive person moves on. It’s ok to debate about the modal ontological argument for the existence of God, but if you never take a position and posit it as your opinion, there is no end.
This may not be such of a concern in extracurricular fields, but in the business world it doesn’t fly. Business is about gettings things done. The smartest people may be the smartest people, but the people who get things done are the ones that more often end up changing the world. We’re talking about Descartes vs. Ford; Marx vs. Walton; Aquinas vs. Brin & Page. Yes, the thinkers made contributions and yes they were invaluable. But few people ever pay attention to all of those who have had no effect in very similar capacities. How many people have heard of Alex Orailoglu or Amy Binder?
The point is not that these professors are useless, but that they don’t live in the business world. The line drawn between perpetual academia and business is Getting Things Done. The important thing to take back from this is firstly what your intentions are. If you want to go into business and make money, you’d better make sure you get things done. Or if you’re satisfied with a perpetual state of learning that may never be applied to anything concrete, stick with academia. I’m certainly taking the former.