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 sword that balances the pressures of succeeding with social acuity. In the speech, This is Water, author David Foster Wallace explains that once a full culmination of formal education is attained 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 display quite a few overlapping qualities with regard on how to overcome the struggles of the daily 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. He delivers the phrase “liberal arts EDUCATION” with a form of emphasis that treats formal education as if it were an optional stepping stone towards entering the real world.  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 by mentioning the distinction of the degree that they will shortly receive. 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 or lack thereof is evident in the non-existent enthusiasm he shows toward the students in this momentous stage of their lives. This lack of enthusiasm in the excerpt implies that the significance of education is not as straightforward as people might think. He emphasizes the idea that the value of education is ambiguous and the paths that education can take you on are filled with spontaneity in the post-graduation cycle. It is important to recognize these paths and choose one that promotes personal well-being.

The first path Wallace highlights is the path of inclusiveness; “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. This hypnosis is best illustrated in the text when Wallace describes humans’ flaws of only thinking of personal problems instead of engaging in the surrounding world. When this simple awareness of surroundings is withdrawn from a person then they are further separated from any level of connection with society, and Wallace hints at this when he describes the neglect show for others when people are preoccupied with their own busy schedules. 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. The path towards inclusiveness is a very treacherous one, it breeds loneliness and a lack of belonging. Education can enhance this inclusiveness by removing your ability to transfer in depth thoughts from the mind into simple conversations with peers. 

Wallace then introduces that educations path towards isolation is not an ideal circumstance and therefore should be avoided at all costs; “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. This default setting is characterized in the text as an unconscious way to proceed with a concrete daily routine with no social awareness, or stimulation. The text argues that 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 to break out of the cycle in hopes of finding happiness. This true form of happiness is found in the text when people stops hiding behind their own shields devised by the educational platform of the mind 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.

The speech then moves towards ideas on breaking away from the isolated platform that education creates; “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). In this excerpt, Wallace explains that one of the best hidden lessons behind education is simple awareness, and this simple awareness must be well conditioned upon entering the real world. 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 blindness towards surroundings is very similar to some forms of hypnosis, and can be compared to Wallace’s depiction of the grocery store analogy where everyone is in there on state of mind with no interpersonal connection. 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 that is reached at the highest degree offers a basic guide for our personal being that can be expressed in different paths and life choices. In its nature, education can prove to be a source of innovation, and success. But this success is not guaranteed once a person’s education has reached this level because the person still has challenges to face. Education can build a wall of isolation also if it is not paired with societal awareness, and it is easy to get trapped in this cycle of self-analysis and lack of communication with peers. But once you break down that wall and use education in accordance to social acclimation in your daily life, then success can be achieved. With this, voluntary action is a massive component of making a successful transition into the post-graduation cycle in the real world. 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 of awareness. Once these two aspects are combined in a way that integrates a person into society, that is when a healthy well-being is created.