The benefits of a classical education

August 24, 2008 on 1:11 pm | In General | 1 Comment

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I am university educated.

I don’t say that as a boast. It’s a statement of fact.

There are many people of great achievement who either lacked the desire or the means to go to university. I am not a man of great achievement, but I am who I am in no small part due to my university education.

I have a BA in Philosophy and Greek and Roman Civilisation. This does not make me a philosopher. It simply means that I was able to demonstrate in an exam that I had read certain books and understood them to an acceptable degree. I also have a Master’s degree in ancient Greek civilisation. My thesis was titled “Greek Infantry and Cavalry with Special Reference to the Fifth Century BC”. It was an achievement, but it’s not like I found the cure for cancer.

My e-mail address seems to attract a lot of spam. That’s irritating enough when it’s for stuff I don’t want, such as fake Rolex watches, drugs for conditions I don’t have, drugs for conditions I don’t want, farmyard movies, [enter name of female celebrity here] shocking videos. However, it’s particularly irritating when they try to sell me a university education.

At university, I learned skills which have outlived the knowledge that I acquired during my time there. The ability to read critically, the ability to structure my thoughts, the ability to express those thoughts both orally and in written form using precise and unambiguous language.

So I draw on every one of those skills to send the following message to those who would try sell me a university education via spam:

FUCK OFF!