<p>The title says it all. Anyone care to comment?</p>
<p>said adam smith-</p>
<p>Water is necessary for life, but it is abundant and cheap. Diamonds are essentially useless, yet they are precious and dear.</p>
<p>Nice! I don’t know what else any of us can add to that!</p>
<p>You’re right! If I had to choose between water and diamonds I would totally go for the diamonds! I mean, despite the fact that I will have to substitute other high fructose corn syrup containing liquids for water, at least I will be able to cover myself in gaudy jewels as I suffer from hypohydration!</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The point being that despite smog’s intentions in implementing of Adam Smith’s quote, it has a great amount of duality to it. It also, interestingly enough, questions the significance and worth that we place on essentially worthless items like diamonds. Regardless of what is deemed ‘precious’, necessities should always take precedence over the nonessentials.</p>
<p>In my opinion, prestige is not that important. Despite this website’s focus on helping people acquire their far-fetched daydreams of attending elite colleges we should all recognize the role that a college education is supposed to play in your life. Is it to acquire a fancy paper place mat? Or is college actually a learning institution where remarkably enough, people go chiefly to learn?</p>
<p>Now I know that many will probably jump up and say, “But those colleges are prestigious for a reason! They offer good education etc…” And of course there is some merit to that, but at the same time it is highly inaccurate. What society on a whole deems “prestigious” is not necessarily what is best for its purpose.</p>
<p>My point here is simple: Go to college to learn. If you are applying for the sake of the name that the halls bear, then you are not applying for the correct reasons. An education is meant to shape minds, not open up internships and jobs.</p>
<p>It’s not.</p>
<p>Gee, what an original question. I’ve never seen this one posed here before.</p>
<p>The thing is prestige earns the university resources and as such, a better university. Kind of like a facade, but a facade that helps… kind of?</p>
<p>Diamonds are actually quite useful. Many industries use them for cutting materials due to their strength. And they are only expensive because De Beers has a monopoly over them.</p>
<p>It’s all about brand name…</p>
<p>Would you rather use Dr. Scholl’s original foot powder to absorb wetness from your feet or use the CVS generic brand?</p>
<p>No, you want girls to check out that you have DR. SCHOLL’S original foot powder, not some generic brand name look-alike… Srry, probably isn’t the best example in the world.</p>
<p>Well, one is aesthetic and the other actually helps. Namely shoes and education.</p>
<p>vicious-
Adam Smith spoke before industrial cutting tools were in wide use. But you’re on the right track about monopoly, but substitute oligo for mono- the prestige schools enjoy an enviable dual position of oligopsony on the factor side- other things being equal, I’d assume the best professors choose to associate with prestige institutions-- and oligopoly on the output side, restricting the number of places for qualified “customers”, and driving up the price of admission. It’s hard to know why prestige is important, but if it were unimportant the structure would not persist. But persist it does.</p>
<p>If I were smart, I would take the useless diamonds, sell them for a load of money, then buy myself an Oberlin degree and a house next to a river that would generate me enough water for a lifetime. I would then take the rest of the money to build myself a farm, sell my harvests, and continue to earn profit and expanding my business. Then, with my profits, I would advertise myself as a prestigious college in California, tutoring 26 guys in return for their work on the farm, and you know what happens from there…
That is the advantage of prestige. :)</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Hehehe. Deep Springs … ;)</p>
<p>Deep Springs is awesome. And vinnyli, nothing that runs through your yard (ie. a river) is legally yours.</p>
<p>It’s important. I think as you plan/attend grad school its importance increases.</p>
<p>It depends? Business= super important, for instance. Other majors/career paths, not so much.</p>
<p>I know Adam Smith wrote this before the heavy use of diamonds in industry, I just wanted to be a smartass</p>