Is it possible to be so well-educated in a specific field that you actually become dumb by real-world standards?
Obviously this thread title is exaggerated and the answer is no, but I just moved into a house with a bunch of current and former Stanford grad students and they are driving me freakin' insane. Sure, they can tell me everything there is to know about whatever bizarre niche of materials science they've been studying for the past five years, but they sure as hell don't know how to check the oil level in their cars or apply for a credit card. They've been in school for so damn long it's like they're over-educated, to the point where their complete lack of real-world work experience seems to be a significant hindrance to their day-to-day functionality. These people are obviously very smart, but to a layman such as myself, they appear to be very dumb.
Thoughts?
Obviously this thread title is exaggerated and the answer is no, but I just moved into a house with a bunch of current and former Stanford grad students and they are driving me freakin' insane. Sure, they can tell me everything there is to know about whatever bizarre niche of materials science they've been studying for the past five years, but they sure as hell don't know how to check the oil level in their cars or apply for a credit card. They've been in school for so damn long it's like they're over-educated, to the point where their complete lack of real-world work experience seems to be a significant hindrance to their day-to-day functionality. These people are obviously very smart, but to a layman such as myself, they appear to be very dumb.
Thoughts?