Education, Effects, and Economics by Julian

Education, Effects, and Economics by Julian - July 2019 Scholarship Essay

Paris is in the kitchen when she remembers to open the blinds in her room. She begins walking, goes upstairs, and makes a right to enter her room. As she steps into the room, she forgets why she had originally came. She stands there, confused, trying to remember what the purpose was. After thirty seconds of wondering, she returns to the kitchen and sits down only five minutes later to remember again to open the blinds. Does this sound familiar?
It’s the Doorway Effect. Studying cognitive biases is like learning the software of a computer. Combine this with anatomy -- specifically the nervous and endocrine systems -- and it is like combining the software with the hardware. Approximately ninety percent of my learning of psychology and anatomy come from YouTube. I easily could spend four or more hours watching videos of biases, hormones, endorphins, neurotransmitters, nerve impulses, neurons, and electric signals. This interest may come as part of being the son of a doctor; however, many doctor’s kids are spending more than four hours watching videos about psychology and anatomy. It is inexplicable how the body and mind work together combined with the effects and biases that influence our thoughts.
For me, education is not only about the desire to learn but also the desire to be wise. Wisdom and knowledge go hand in hand. There are of course people who are knowledgeable and foolish along with those who are not but wise. The difference between knowledge and wisdom is knowledge is used for the present moment for example knowing an answer on a test. Wisdom is using insight to predict or visualize possible consequences of present actions for example skipping an ice cream run because the calories are too much. Knowledge without wisdom is nothing.
Education also invokes creativity. “Everyone else is doing it, so why don’t you?” is one of the most common principles among high school students. Now I have a question. You don’t do it, so why is everyone else? Putting the question in reverse gives a completely different meaning to it. So why do people follow others? There is this interesting effect that everyone has observed time and time again. At my school, once a year, there is an app or game that becomes randomly popular.
On one day the game is obsolete; the next day it is resurrected. I am walking down the hall when my friend comes to me and says, “Do you have you have Trivia Crack?” Didn’t that game expire two years ago?”, I think to myself. I responded, “No I haven’t had it for a while.” “Get it. Everyone else has it,” he says. The first thing to come to my mind is “Ah, so I should bandwagon too is what you’re telling me.” I tell him I may or may not download it and I go to my next class. The day continues. I get to my last class. My friend and I sit next to each other in this class. He asks me again if I’ve downloaded it yet. I am not the type to succumb to peer pressure or follow the crowd...but…it’s just a game so I re-download it. Two weeks later, the game was as irrelevant and obsolete as music cartridges. Just like Trivia Crack was the fad last year and some other game the year before that, there is definitely going to be a new popular game that arises this year.
Part of my creativity is recognizing cognitive biases that influence others and myself. The Bandwagon Effect cannot be undervalued because it is applicable at all times in school. It is amusing how I can realize something as it happens, yet it still affects me.
Continued education also leads to higher human capital and higher human capital results in higher value to the country. People and companies nowadays have strayed from placing tremendous value on college name’s and instead screen for those who can apply the knowledge gained at their respective school. As demonstrated above, I have interests in subjects that are not related to my college major. Take a guess what my major is. It’s economics. Rarely will anyone find an economics major studying cognitive biases, hormones, endorphins, and neurotransmitters, but I enjoy psychology. Other subjects I enjoy include primal behavior, anatomy, chemistry, ancient and world history, and finance.
My favorite board game is Monopoly, and it is quite literally a game of money. Learning personal wealth principles from people like Dave Ramsey, Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch, George Clason, Thomas Stanley, and others help to avoid financial stress. Unlike Monopoly, we don’t all have the same start. Some have more and some have less at the beginning; however, anyone can build their way to their own personal freedom. This is why I’m going to school. Life is a game, but few know how to play it. Those who learn early benefit greatly; those who don’t struggle. I plan to learn the game, play the game, and later teach the game to others so that they may also benefit. As Henry David Thoreau said, “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” Ultimately, my desire for knowledge derives from a longing for wisdom and full life.