Outside the Box

The Big Question is not on an exam. During an Interview, William Deresiewicz and Mark Edmundson have a conversation about universities. They blog and post video chats on blogheads.tv. In The Academic-industrial complex they discuss: “Is there still room for big questions in college” In the video chat these to take turns debating their opinions on the matter. They speak formally and prove their point over a video on their blog. They ask if there is still room for the big question in college”, but what is the “Big Question”?

William gives Universities bad image in the opening part of the video. For example he states that universities are businesses and the “purpose of Yale College is to raise Yale alumni”. By raising alumni they mean raising wealthy people who can donate back to the university. This has its pros and cons. For example, it can make an individual well prepared for the field they are attempting to work. The students will know how to handle themselves in any given situation. The con is that they lack the skill or knowledge to act in situations outside their profession. Being a well rounded individual is a key to success.

William uses the term “leaders” differently than a normal person would use it in everyday conversation. For instance, he explains them as people who “insert themselves in hierarchy… and rise to the top and keep the system going”. This sounds like an outstanding person in society, the one who is the best and keeps the system on track. In reality, these people may lead the system or business, but they are just followers who keep the system going. They are just tools for the university to craft and use however they like.

William classifies other people as “Thinkers”. Thinkers are people who are skeptical, ask questions, and stand outside the institution. These are the people who make break the norm, the people who make changes in society, and the people who should be called “Leaders”. Thinkers change society because they see things differently from outside society. They observe and make changes accordingly for the benefit of society. These thinkers are able to change society because they think about the “big questions”. They speak their opinion and stand up for what is right; protesters, lobbyists, and interest groups are examples of “thinkers”.

What William calls “Leaders” should be renamed followers. Leaders are people who people look up to and follow without fear. Leaders are someone who people can always rely on. The way William describes “leaders”, he portrays them as people who are puppets and follow a never ending cycle. A more correct term would be tools. They only do what they were taught in college; and what they learned in college was how to be a profit to the university.

Thinkers are different from everyone else. They observe what occurs around them. They look for answers to the “Big Question”. Even if the university never proposes the question, they search for answers to the problems of society. Even more important: they ask questions of the university.

Universities cannot give the answer to the “big question”; they can only lead one in the right direction. It is the job of the “Thinker” to think outside the box and create a solution for the problem. The reason students go to college because “students want a good education”. Students want a good education so they can be successful. This makes a symbiotic relationship between Leaders and social systems, and a parasitic relationship between Thinkers and the system. Leaders do as the system tells them to, while Thinkers try to answer the “Big Question”
But what really is the “Big Question”? In the past the question involved God. For example, in the in 1925, the “Big Question” was evolution as exemplified through the Scopes Evolution Trial. In 1865, the “Big Question” was the abolition of slavery. But what is the question now? Is it gay marriage, Abortion, war in Iraq? William in Mark discusses the “Big Question”, but do not specify what it is. They talk about how “Thinkers” are the ones to solve these questions, but they can’t answer was has not been asked.

Often times it is the “Thinkers” who ask the “Big Question”. They do not conform to society; instead they ask questions and develop plans to improve it. These people are the ones that push society in the right direction by proposing to solutions, which are often controversial because of how radical they seem to society.

Controversy is a given, when dealing with people with strong opinions, with people who have lots to lose. Tensions rise as words are exchanged, and eventually people resort to violence. All these problems occur because of people trying to answer the “Big Question”. There is no one “Big Question” but many all have different significance to different people. It is the job of the thinkers to think outside the box and solve their own “Big Question”.