Prepare to have your mind blown...

I'll admit, the title might be a bit of an overstatement, but this one you cannot miss. Harvard University offered a free online lecture series/course on justice and philosophy. They also set up a website where viewers could participate in discussions, etc. Interestingly, the very first lecture received about a million views! I say interestingly because on youtube, stupid videos are much more likely to reach this target than educational ones, easy.

Watching this video brings back fond memories from my time in university. The thoughts this first lecture provokes is precisely what I see to be the value of university, especially today. My degree wasn't my ticket to full-time employment, or a clearly delineated career for that matter. But what I do credit it with doing- was helping me to develop a critical eye. Question, question, question became one of many mottos deeply embedded into my subconcious! haha

In a culture where conformity is the norm, we need more people questioning the way things are; the systems, structures, constructs, belief systems, institutions, policies, etc. We need to awaken from our zombie slumber! To be clear, I'm not saying that a post-secondary education is the sole pathway to becoming a critical thinking individual. Indeed it would be preposterous to suggest so! I only speak to my specific experience and what I felt was one of the biggest takeaways from my degree. Some of the most analytical people I know are wondrous readers and thinkers with no 'formal' higher education. Everyone gains and gleans differently.

#readwritequestion

The despotism of custom is everywhere the standing hindrance to human advancement, being in unceasing antagonism to that disposition to aim at something better than the customary, which is called, according to circumstances, the spirit of liberty, or that of progress or improvement. - John Stuart Mill