Education is free, learning is expensive

That’s a complete reversal of how it used to be.

Colleges used to be measured by how many books they had in the library. Access to courses was restricted. If knowledge was power, controlling access was essential.

They even call it the ‘admissions office.’

Part of the status that comes from higher education is that they controlled who could find the information and who was left behind.

Today, of course, all of the information is there, a click away. Billions of people have a smartphone with access to everything ever recorded and written, but also to a trillion dollar AI system that can offer informed guidance.

So why hesitate? Why do we get stuck or avoid even acknowledging that it’s possible?

Because learning is hard. It creates tension. It takes time. Most of all, it requires a commitment to becoming someone else, a bet we’re making that might not turn out the way we hope.

The system has called our bluff. If you want to learn, learn.

But we pay for it with effort.

June 28, 2025