

Ask HN: What big discoveries can be attributed to Elite schools? - physcab

Since I know this is an educated bunch, I thought it would be interesting to see what you all thought about how big discoveries in the world could be attributed to Elite education.<p>Are elite schools really significant to truly disruptive innovation?<p>Do they just attract smart people, and smart people tend to have good ideas and execute them well?<p>What is it specifically about these schools that cultivates disruptive innovations that lacks at other "non-elite" schools?<p>Please leave your honest evaluations below.  They will be useful in my ongoing side-project on graduate admissions.
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russell
If you broaden it a bit to include other elite schools like MIT, Stanford,
Berkeley, Caltech, etc. the impact is enormous. Their innovations won WWII.
Their students and alumni founded HP, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, MySpace,
Intel, and on and on. These schools tend to have alumni networks all over the
place. There are Harvard Clubs coast to coast.

Take a look at Nobel Prizes; these schools dominate. Take a look at the
diploma on your doctor's or lawyer's wall.

"Do they just attract smart people, and smart people tend to have good ideas
and execute them well?" Not necessarily that they think better or execute
better than everyone else. It's just that in the aggregate there are so many
of them that there are bound to be ones around anything significant.

As a counterpoint, I live near Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. It's not a top tier
school, but it's surprising the number of successful startups that have come
out of it. Jamba Juice come to mind.

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physcab
Thanks for the response. I broadened it a bit. What I'm more interested in is
what these schools may offer specifically that helps cultivate disruptive
technologies.

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russell
I think it's the culture. Stanford has long had culture of fostering
entrepreneurship. The concentration of smart people helps. You can spout off
about your latest harebrained scheme and there is better chance of good
criticism or even an eager partner. And as I said the alumni networks are
significant. Name recognition helps a lot. Harvard has opened door for me,
especially in other countries where people haven't even heard of the lower
tier universities.

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spoondan
Elite schools have renowned faculty, great facilities, lots of money, and a
focus on research. Consequently, the curricula are better; the research
opportunities more numerous and varied; the expectations greater. These
institutions have the capacity to engage and challenge their best students.
And they have the reputations to attract the top students from around the
world, where they meet, compete, and collaborate. I think this environment
enhances the likelihood of innovation through sudden insight.

Another possible mechanism for innovation is through gradual refinement
leading to a breakthrough. Well-funded, research-oriented institutions are in
the best position to fund this kind of incremental research.

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abossy
Which field?

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noodle
collateralized debt obligations

