“I'm paying like $50,000 a year and you're not paying a dime. I said, yeah, but you get a degree. I only get an education. That's right. Education is free, but the credential is expensive. And the credential matters today because the employer can't properly evaluate the individual. But that can change.”
What Happens Next in 6 Minutes · October 2026
The host tells how, waiting a year before business school, he bought a name plate and snuck into night classes at a law school without enrolling. A fraternity brother paying full tuition was outraged; the host's reply became his point about degrees.
Transcript
That outcome doesn't seem right to me. Here you have a chance to educate a group of kids, but because it isn't available to every kid, no child gets it.
…in Pilot, right? So my idea is to have no levels in math education. Every kid should take the same math every year, no matter how talented you are. That's called equity. Some people in the city think this is right. Others think that kids should be leveled, allowed to escape grades actually in math.
…first day of night classes and I put out my new name plate. And the professor asked, can anyone please define income? I raised my hand and he said, yes. Larry Bernstein, why don't you start us off? One day, I ran into a college fraternity brother in the hallway who asked what I was doing at Brooklyn Law. I said, outside now. What? I said, I'm sneaking into law school. What? That's outrageous. I'm paying like $50,000 a year and you're not paying a dime. I said, yeah, but you get a degree. I only get an education. That's right. Education is free, but the credential is expensive. And the credential matters today because the employer can't properly evaluate the individual. But that can change.
That's going to change, I mean with AI for sure.
If that changes, you don't need the high-stakes exam or the college education. Ultimately, all the employer wants to know is whether the candidate can do the task and has the chops for the job.
A lot of the Silicon Valley AI firms want to have a stand for students without a degree. They want them to drop out.
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