That's a great calculator; I remember using it like a decade ago. And while it includes all factors they listed there are a few it doesn't:

1. If interest rates go down, you can refinance, but if they go up, the inflation and appreciation values likely will as well, but your rate is fixed, for (up to) 30 yrs (!!)

2. It's relatively easy to make improvements while you live there (and capture increased value when you leave)

3. The calculator assumes that the down payment and cost difference vs renting would be invested, which is fine but ignores psychological realities that prevent this more often than not

Also:

> The best hedge is to also "invest" in something that has value to you. Like bricks / house.

The suggestion was mentioned as a 'hedge'. The point being: you don't know what the values entered into the calculator will really end up being. Having some costs locked in can help with concerns around cash flow (and shelter costs are usually a significant percentage of costs overall). It's an "also 'invest'" strategy, so there's a whole lot not included in the calculator here as well

By 'liberal arts' I meant the common 4 year, non-vocational education. My major was CS too, but well over half of the time was spent on other subjects.

> I get that you cant imagine this playing out. To those interested only in the degree, it's unimaginable

I can easily imagine what you describe playing out. I just wouldn't call it 'sucking the marrow' (unless you were equally avid in all your classes, which time likely would not permit).

But as you allude to in your last point, the system isn't really designed for that. It's nice when it does effectively support the few who have developed the interest, and have extra time to devote to it, as it did for you.

I'd rather see systems that were designed for it though.

I might argue you couldn't really tell if it was "real" before LLMs, either. But also, reviewing work without some accompanying dialogue is probably rarely considered a joy anyway.

Learning is not just a function of aptitude and/or effort. Interest is a huge factor as well, and even for a single person, what they find interesting changes over time.

I don't think it's really possible to have a large cohort of people pass thru a liberal arts education, with everyone learning the same stuff at the same time, and have a majority of them "suck the marrow" out of the opportunity.

You don't have to play the game the same way to work there. But it helps to accept that others will play it, and manage your own expectations accordingly.

Gradually, then suddenly

As an issuer, they wouldn't. But nobody can issue Bitcoin anyway, so that's clearly irrelevant.

As a reserve, it would be the same ones who buy gold, for the same reason.

I know the feeling. We still have access to the engineering thought processes responsible for some of the most amazing software feats ever accomplished (thru source repo history and mailing lists), just with access to the Internet. Of course there's a wealth of info available for free on the web for basically any profession, but for software engineering in particular it's almost direct access to world class teams/projects to learn from.

> but would be immediately turned off by this pervasive sense that "the way to do things now" is seemingly inseparable from a credit card number and monthly charge

To be effective you still need to understand and evaluate the quality of the output. There will always be a certain amount of time/effort required to get to that point (i.e., there's still no silver bullet).

> But I guess we don't need the passion anymore anyway, its all been vectorized!

We're not running out of things that can be improved. With or without these tools, the better you get, the more of the passion/energy that gets directed at higher levels of abstraction, i.e. thinking more about what to solve, tradeoffs in approaches, etc. instead of the minute details of specific solutions.

I have a Model Y and a Toyota Highlander (so not just accustomed to the hostility), and I prefer the hands-off approach in the Tesla. No reason to lie.

I've worked remotely since 2013, and love the convenience, but still need to get out from time to time. I've noticed this in an office setting as well. After ~4 years at my first job, every day in the same room and with the same ~10 people, I noticed that the change in atmosphere at my 2nd job (which had many/varying people in proximity) made it easier to focus.

I don't know if it's that people are there as much as it is a change of scenery, but when a place is bustling it makes it feel like it's constantly changing.