User Comments - haikewen

Posted on: Philosophy: a Useless Major?

Being an undergrad Philosophy major myself, no retorts immediately come to mind, but I can respond with a personal anecdote. Of the philosophy majors in my graduating class about 1/2 went into seminary upon graduating and about another 1/2 went to study law.

Although I took the LSAT myself, I later thought that there are currently an over-supply of attorneys in this world and decided to go into the IT consulting direction.

In any event, it is a very useful discipline for encouraging clear and un-muddled thinking.

Posted on: Philosophy: a Useless Major?

I was a philosophy major in college, but since that doesn't do much for paying the bills, I now work as a database developer in an investment management firm.

Although philosophy does not often produce clear answers, it is a great discipline for asking questions, organizing one's thoughts and critical thinking.

I did an MBA several years ago and never found any courses to be as challenging as some upper-level philosophy courses I had as an undergrad.

Although I had applied to a PhD program in Philosophy, the practical side of me is glad that it didn't materialize. Although it is fun to debate the existence of reality sometimes, it's a process that can lead to "Analysis Paralysis" and simply not go anywhere.

However, that being said, I'm still glad I did my undergrad in Philosophy.

Posted on: These Napkins Ain't Free

"Nothing much is free in this life .. they usually just add it on to the bill."

There's a Chinese phrase for this fact of life: ”羊毛去在羊身上“ -- "the goat's hair still comes out",  I don't know why there is the reference to goats, but the meaning is that you always have to pay for something one way or the other.