Does education hinder innovation?

[JKWiniger]

I have often wondered if when people are taught this is that way it is done does this keep people from breaking out of the box and thinking of new and different way of doing thing? To me not everyone can say ya sure you say this is how we do it, but WHAT IF! And in our field it's all about saying but what if! It's how we can imagine new and in probably and even in possibly attack vectors! I would rather be the guy who protected against something that never happened then the one who failed to protect against what did!

Basically, is it bad to teach people one way of thinking instead of making them thing of new ideas for problems?

ya, silly me.. hehehe

Happy New Years everyone..

And my prediction.. we will embrace more automation because the average person can not see all the areas that we need to see!

Be good to each other...

John-

[Rodger]

US education badly needs effective innovations of scale that can help produce the needed high-quality learning outcomes across the system. The primary focus of educational innovations should be on teaching and learning theory and practice, as well as on the learner, parents, community, society, and its culture. Technology applications need a solid theoretical foundation based on purposeful, systemic research, and a sound pedagogy. One of the critical areas of research and innovation can be cost and time efficiency of the learning.

Several practical recommendations stem out of this paper: how to create a base for large-scale innovations and their implementation; how to increase effectiveness of technology innovations in education, particularly online learning; how to raise time and cost efficiency of education.

Innovations in education are regarded, along with the education system, within the context of a societal supersystem demonstrating their interrelations and interdependencies at all levels. Raising the quality and scale of innovations in education will positively affect education itself and benefit the whole society.

Upsers.com

[mgorman]

I don't believe education can hinder innovation unless it is not really educational, but rather rote memorization of facts and nothing else.  No consideration of Why? no room for alternate interpretations. I have seen such "teaching" and I don't think of it as education.

That said, if you do not understand the fundamentals of whatever field you are working in, how could you possibly manipulate that field into a new shape?  If you don't know what a buffer is, how can you postulate a buffer overflow?  If you don't understand the costs of a half open connection, how can you think of a DoS attack based on leaving them in that state?  A level of education and training is absolutely necessary to be able to build upon.  Newton stood upon the shoulders of giants, he learned from them, and taking their knowledge, he saw farther.

[JKWiniger]

@mgorman It wasn't until I was working on my master's degree that I was finally allowed to think for myself, and until then it really was more of memorization and repeating. Sure I did learn thing, but I kept wanting to have my own thoughts. I guess maybe it comes down to a person disposition, some people will problem be taught this is the way you do it, accept it and just always do it that way, while another will look beyond and say but if we do it this way this could happen, or turn the whole thing upside down and create a new approach.

I guess I see much of what I have learned as history, to be remember and understood, but not to set the tone for the future, that is something we must think up for ourselves in new and different ways. Just because it has always been done one way does not mean there are not other possibilities, and even better ones.

John-