Our modern day society has encompassed the idea that the 21st century education is the best path to achieve success and happiness. However, education is a dangerous two-sided spectrum that balances the pressures of succeeding with social acuity. Once the full culmination of education is formed in the mind, a new mental platform is reached, and depending on how this level of mental acuteness is applied can either lead to a path of innovation and success, or severe loneliness and isolation. Innovation and success can be found in connecting with others around you and building a strong sense of personal esteem and a feeling of purpose. On the other hand, when this level of education creates a gap that inhibits social bonding then withdrawal may occur. Although these two concepts are often thought to have two very contrasted outlooks, they often display a lot of overlap in the process of overcoming the daily struggles of the real world.

“Of course the main requirement of speeches like this is that I’m supposed to talk about your liberal arts EDUCATION’s meaning, to try to explain why the degree you are about to receive has actual human value instead of just a material payoff” (Foster Wallace XI). Wallace addresses graduating class of Kenyon by expressing a very rhetorical statement on the weight of the education recently received by the graduating class. Also, this is one of the first instances of Wallace highlighting the idea that knowledge now separates the graduating class from the rest of the uneducated world. He entertains the idea that this new level of thinking is in no way guaranteed to equate to material payoff, but instead represents a form of human value that when applied with personal interaction can lead to a new found form of joy and purpose. His tone in the excerpt implies that the significance of education is not as straightforward as people might think. He emphasizes the idea of ambiguous paths and meanings of education that the graduates are not exposed to until they experience them first hand in the real world.

“Probably the most dangerous thing about an academic EDUCATION—least in my own case—is that it enables my tendency to over-intellectualize stuff, to get lost in abstract arguments inside my head, instead of simply paying attention to what is going on right in front of me, paying attention to what is going on inside me” (Foster Wallace XII). In this passage, Wallace draws out a very important viewpoint on how education can lead to a path to of inclusiveness. Although education teaches people to be independent thinkers, one huge drawback is the falsified omniscient stigma that pulls people out of reality in order to psychoanalyze situations that could very well be handled through basic interaction. This is revealed in the text when Wallace alludes to his own personal tendency to over intellectualize daily problems in his mind. This transitions into the idea that education can lead into a form of hypnosis that absorbs peripheral awareness. When this simple awareness of surroundings is withdrawn from a person then they are further separated from any level of connection with society. Another aspect Wallace brings up is how an academic education can even overshadow a person’s internal emotions. If these emotions are pushed over to the side, then the mind is at risk of becoming to weighed down and this can lead to even greater reclusion. One major key to find success would be to always handle emotions in the moment, and express these emotions to people that can identify with these emotions and hope they can provide counsel. 

“And I submit that this is what the real, no bullshit value of your liberal arts education is supposed to be about: how to keep from going through your comfortable prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to your head and to your natural default setting of being uniquely, completely, imperially alone day in and day out” (Foster Wallace XIII) In this quotation, Wallace implies that the platform that education instills in people is made to combat the day in, day out routines of the default setting. Not even a strong material payoff can disguise the stress that this cycle places on the mind. It is in this petty, slow-paced routine where a person is given the opportunity to think about harnessing their education and to identify with the people around them in order to break out of the cycle in hopes of finding happiness. This true form of happiness will only be found once a person stops hiding behind their own shields devised by the educational platform of the mind in order to look past the lifeless appearances of strangers around them. Once past these shields, the opportunity to make beneficial connections appear and many of these connections could lead to paths of success.

“It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over…” (Foster Wallace XVII). Once the concept of education instills a higher capacity for thinking then the mind enters a lifetime of not becoming overwhelmed by a lack of awareness. So many crucial events happen right in front of people’s eyes that they miss because of in-attentional blindness. This state of situational blindness is very similar to some forms of hypnosis. Some people never snap out of this state, and the more elapsed time spent trapped can prove to be detrimental to both success and overall happiness.

Education builds a mental platform that when reached guides our personal being. It is the source of innovation, and success. There is no guarantee of safety or happiness once you reach this level, it is in the beholders hands how it is carried. This ulterior state of mind can be easy to get trapped in, and it may seem enticing to hide behind the shield that it provides, but once you conquer said shield and use this platform in your daily interaction, then success is achieved. With this, voluntary action is a massive component of making a successful transition into the post-graduation cycle in the real world. In many ways the balance of applying education in the real world mirrors the Chinese philosophy regarding Yin and Yang. Both concepts have dual intertwining perspectives that seemingly oppose each other but are more connected than one might think. Yin is often synonymous with worlds like cold, dark, and passive. This can be directly connected with the path of isolation when education is not effectively used to socially integrate into society. Yang in contrast, is compared to words like focused and active, which relates heavily to using education to harmonize with others in order to break out of the dreary system. The paths that education creates helps bridge the gaps of understanding. Education is like a toolbox that only reaps benefits when the right tools are applied in the right manner. Having the knowledge to succeed is only one small part on the path to finding happiness in the real world. There is a whole other half focused on application. Once these two aspects are combined in a way that integrates a person into society, that is when success will be achieved.