Parable. Higher education

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Three students went on a long journey to test the theory they got at school in practice. After a few years, they returned to the teacher and shared their observations.

The first one said:

- Teacher, I saw a lot of injustice in this world and tried to apply the knowledge gained from you to eliminate it, but I failed: the injustice remained where I found it, and in some ways it even became even worse.

The second said:

-Master, I saw a lot of stupidity in people and tried to inform them about it, patiently explaining what they were doing wrong and how to do it right, but they only got angry with me.

The third said:

- Teacher, in general, I did not find anything special, the world is fair, everything in it is good and correct, although personally I do not like everything, but I would not specifically change something the way I would like it will interfere with its correct development.

The teacher thought a little, looking at the students, and replied:

- My third student turned out to be smarter than the two of you, and you are boobies and losers.

The two vied with each other began to object:

- But why? How so? He did nothing good, moreover, he could not distinguish the problems that we saw in the stream of events.

The teacher answered these words as well:

“You two just failed three tests. The first was to look at the world correctly and see its perfection from the point of view of Universal Expediency, and not your Self. It was necessary not to try at any cost to cram the knowledge gained at school into the realities of this world, but to think and do it right. I didn’t teach you how to solve problems in any specific way, I taught you to think for yourself. Second, you rushed to humiliate your companion in order to justify your actions and smooth out the insult from the fact that I called him smarter than you. What justice will you, the first disciple, tell me if you yourself use unjust methods? What problems will you, the second student, tell me about if you cannot solve your internal problems?

- Teacher, but you yourself said … - began the first two students, not listening to the teacher, but he immediately interrupted them.

- And this is the third test - you do not need to refer to what I said, I am a simple person and I can make mistakes, I need to think with my own head and take responsibility on myself, and not shift my inability to think independently to the old man. Here's to you, the first student, a blue crust about graduation, you are free. For you, second student, here is a red crust. However, you can exchange them with each other, there will be no difference. Now leave me.

They're gone. The teacher looked at the third student and said:

- And you can stay at school, I will teach you what they really come here for, from this moment your training will begin. If you want.

- Teacher, I want to, but tell me, what happened before was not study?

“Of course not,” the old man replied, “it was an entrance exam, and those two failed it, but they need these multi-colored crusts to convince the others that they know better. Let them go and indulge themselves with the illusions of the usefulness of the knowledge that they consider "higher education", even if they unsuccessfully even "change the world" with its help, even though they live for their own sake, so at least they will not do too much evil. But you can be given a truly high knowledge, you are guaranteed not to be able to use it with malicious intent. Let's start with this right now …

PS … Just in case, I will explain that I also have two crusts about "getting higher education."