THE DIFFERENCE BEING INSIGNIFICANT AS WELL:

"I wish college were like this!"

I hear this exclamation over and over at the seminars put on by organizations like the Foundation for Economic Education and the Institute for Humane Studies.

Attendees are blown away by the excellence of the content, the professors' willingness to engage students even in free time, and the intelligence and interest level of the other participants.

And it's not just the students who see a difference. Faculty also talk about how these seminars are far better than typical college classes.

What causes this distinction?

One obvious explanation is self-selection. Faculty and students who choose to give up a week of their summer to discuss ideas are high caliber and highly engaged.

But college has self-selection, too. Shouldn't it be full of professors and students who are earnest truth and knowledge seekers of the finest quality?

With the rare exception of one or two classes, college is nothing like this. Why does the self-selection only produce quality learning in these seminars?

It's because college offers an official credential -- a degree. Educational experiences outside of college do not.

That's it. Every other difference is insignificant.

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