Education 10

Concepts of intelligence were previously fashioned by the elite. Two centuries ago those who went to university were from the landed rich and invariably took over the running of the country. They became politicians, and since their deaths have passed into the obscurity they deserved. Those who offered ideas and innovation usually did not receive a university education.

Of the poets, Shelly and Byron went to university, Keats did not. Of writers of the period, the majority did not attend university.

Since Thatcher and Blair, higher education has become democratised but does that mean lower standards? When I went to university, one of the highest ranked, as a mature student I quickly noticed sanobbish and tribal behaviour coming from both students and staff, especially the staff who strongly believed themselves to be members of a, largely self-selected, elite who represented the finest minds of their time. Limited in intellectual scope with little knowledge outside their chosen fields, I doubted that.