I think you're misunderstanding what I was trying to say. I am explicitly saying that lots of other schools are fantastic, and also that schools which aren't pitched as the "best" produce fantastic alumni. So, as you say, I agree.
Yes, I think that there are schools around the world with harder curricula than MIT, with the caveat that every university has different strengths. I could go into my accomplishments in undergrad, but it's truly besides the point.
At some point it's truly ridiculous to compare as if it's a linear ranking. It's counterproductive to worry about rankings, and causes completely unnecessary friction between institutions. Pride and insecurity get in the way of solving problems, and all of us are ultimately struggling against a much more interesting challenge than each other.
I think the professor here is really not making a compelling argument, to be honest. None of the listed things are unique to MIT for sure, though strictly speaking he doesn't claim that they are -- he says that they are lessons of an MIT education, rather than unique aspects of an MIT education. He's a mathematician so this may be intentionally precise.
Yes, I think that there are schools around the world with harder curricula than MIT, with the caveat that every university has different strengths. I could go into my accomplishments in undergrad, but it's truly besides the point.
At some point it's truly ridiculous to compare as if it's a linear ranking. It's counterproductive to worry about rankings, and causes completely unnecessary friction between institutions. Pride and insecurity get in the way of solving problems, and all of us are ultimately struggling against a much more interesting challenge than each other.
I think the professor here is really not making a compelling argument, to be honest. None of the listed things are unique to MIT for sure, though strictly speaking he doesn't claim that they are -- he says that they are lessons of an MIT education, rather than unique aspects of an MIT education. He's a mathematician so this may be intentionally precise.