Universities are institutions of higher learning, but that learning, excluding those who seek it just for fun, is intended to empower individuals. Imagine different levels of empowered individuals ranging from just-found-out-about-the-world to someone who reached the state of understanding where they fit in and know how they can uniquely contribute to this world. In an efficient service based economy, one could envision everyone to be empowered enough to provide their services on their own; in essence, individuals will be owning and running their own startup. In such a world, which is what this world is increasingly becoming, Universities should be incubators of startups rather than a factory of certified graduates.

Viewed from this angle, one can argue whether current approach to education is the right approach. Should we be taking courses and pursuing toy projects in the hope that they might be useful someday, or as Peter Thiel argued, just try building a startup and figure out things on the way? As usual, there is no one right answer. Some learn better with a goal, while others are more academic. However, current system is heavily biased towards the latter. Whether we agree with Thiel or not, should we at least tweak the system so that those who work that way can choose to follow that path? Our goal is, after all, not to fill society with people who know things, but people who know how to know things to do things.