The Chronicle interviewed five PhDs who considered getting another degree in order to go into a new line of work. Too bad they didn't interview New Kid. I'm sorry, but the very thought of getting another degree makes me consider self-mutilation.
Hey, David Brooks reads Marginal Revolution. Smart guy! Why didn't the online version include a hyperlink to the blog? Brooks answers a question that popped up on that blog, "What would happen if a freak solar event sterilized the people on the half of the earth that happened to be facing the sun?" Great question.
The New York Times points to Polyvore, which is like high-end, online paper dolls. Would have loved it when I was 12.
Apt. 11d 
“I’m sorry, but the very thought of getting another degree makes me consider self-mutilation.”
It makes me what to mutilate other people, but that is probably a gendered difference.
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Well, I kind of think it would be interesting. I liked graduate school, and school itself. I liked learnig new things, and didn’t mind the control that comes from doing it in a school setting (where other people set the agenda). But, I’m not doing it. It’s possible that if I were I’d find the limitations mind-numbing.
And, I think that returners have a real problem — New Kid mentions it, too — in having areas of significant knowledge mixed with areas where they are average or behind. It’s hard to manage that in a school setting. I guess it’s kind of like being a “profoundly gifted kid.”
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Polyvore didn’t quite do it for me (or my 8 year old) because there’s no actual doll involved. My daughter likes stardoll & SIMS because she gets to try the clothes on people.
I wonder if Polyvore could add a few models?
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The MBA guy wasn’t really going into a new field, just a new part of bio-tech. And, in good libraries, many of the librarians have degrees other than MLS degrees. (Lots of PhDs in research libraries and lots of law degrees in law libraries, for example.) So, these people don’t have to feel that unusual. The one thing I’d warn people against is getting a law degree thinking “you can do anything w/ a law degree!”. Some people can, but mostly you can be a lawyer. People who don’t want to be lawyers should usually not get law degrees, unless there’s a very special plan in mind. (I have a law degree and a PhD so I speak with a bit of experience.) And, in many law jobs, having a PhD won’t be considered a plus unless it’s in something like economics, engineering, etc.
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