"Please just think"
I read an article recently by Younes Henni. It was published on medium in Feb. 2021 you can find the original article here. It's a short piece about a 5-min read and I'd recommend that you give it a read before continuing reading on here.
It was a rather scathing and condescending article on Musk's opinion. There were some main points of argument I'd like to discuss here. The issue I have with the Henni's article is consistent throughout - it is the fact that he portrays correlation with causation.
Henni makes a point that college reduces poverty on a global scale and it is of crucial importance especially in poorer countries. While that may be true statistically it certainly does not mean higher education is the best way forward, it is likely that social stigma plays a huge role in this statistic. The American Dream is not only for American's to dream, it's a concept that is global, we all want to work our way up society but since America is still the most powerful country in the entire world it's not exactly surprising that some parts of the world would share the same beliefs as Americans. A lot of people see university as a necessity to the American Dream so no shit it may reduce poverty. In developing countries where accolades, symbols of prestige and awards are so highly valued it's no surprise that people who get college degrees are seen as a cut above the rest. "Advising a Filipino to drop out of college is a financial death sentence." No fucking shit, more often than not developing world countries stick to well-established paths to success they don't care if you're Abraham Lincoln or Steve Jobs you don't have a bachelor's? gtfo.
Henni draws from a publication from UNESCO here which he stats that "teenage girls are five times more likely to get pregnant when they skip college." Okay... does that mean going to college caused teenage girls to get less pregnant or does it mean that people who go to college have distinctive traits that would naturally mean they get less pregnant? Is the safety of a college campus or is the safety of community that also contributes to this statistic?
This one takes the fucking cake. Wow a former president of Harvard University has an opinion that university education "is crucial to anchoring democracy in a country." First of all it's some random fucker's opinion; second, it's a complete fucking conflict of interest isn't it.
Alright you get the fucking point I can go on an on but what really pisses me off is that these articles with 'data' and 'statistics' so easily sway the minds of people. He ends the article by saying "let facts and statistical data guide your opinions." Henni is on some of that good shit. Do you have no fucking shame or what.
