I believe that education is essential regardless of whatever a person intends to do. By education, I do not mean just having a degree or a certificate - which is a proof of possession of certain kind of knowledge and rigour - but also being aware of the essentials of how the world works. Many schools and universities often focus on knowledge acquisition and seldom on thinking. Thinking is as much important as rote learning, if not more. Education is an amalgamation of knowledge and wisdom. Where the former is quite easy to acquire (by means of ample resources available), the later - I was told - is rare (for it requires one to churn through several processes and gain an overall perspective of the society and world at large) [IMO].

Mahatma Gandhi:

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

Education is not a destination but an eternal journey and possessing the desire and mindset to learn is more important than learning once (and forgetting). In other words, the ability to learn new things is essential. This does not mean that you will start losing what you have learnt.

Confucius:

Learn as though you would never be able to master it; hold it as though you would be in fear of losing it.

Education is attained at a cost: it takes a toll on your happiness. The best way to deal with this misery, I think, is to be ignorant at times, and stop over-analysing. One is not responsible for the world they are brought up in [John von Neumann ideated to Richard Feynman], but they must try (if they so desire) to make every effort (within the limits of their ability and human decency) to do better, with whatever tools, time and energy they have at their disposal. Most people are biased, and they usually promote that, which more often than not, benefit them directly (or indirectly), and conform to their own values. Waddling through life is a difficult process, I have been told, and it becomes a lot easier when we do what most interests us (if and while we can), and be around folks that seem most tolerable.

Pablo Picasso:

It takes a very long time to become young.

The world is a massively complex dynamical system (or so I have learnt), with interconnectedness of an inconceivable scale. As thoughtful individuals, we may get overwhelmed - peek, but do not gaze!

Friedrich Nietzsche:

[…] And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.

Wrong is easier done than thought about. Hold your morals and principles dear to you but do not be stringent, for at times the distinction between right and wrong is obfuscated. Springing to the dark side requires no effort and there will always be ample perpetrators trying to dismantle the society. It requires effort to hold on to the light. This is where education comes to be: your knowledge and training helps you listen to and understand everyone, and filter out useful data from chatter, and make rational and informed decisions for yourself and the society you live in. Hasty decisions often turn out to be long term regrets [IMO]. Be kind to everyone, for everyone is fighting their own battles. Happy learning.

Alright, I am off to play AoE. If you have any thoughts, please feel free to mail me.