"Instead, most colleges are studies in obsolescence"
About this Quote
The intent feels less anti-learning than anti-bureaucracy. "Most" is crucial: he’s not torching education wholesale; he’s isolating a pattern. The subtext is about lag. Colleges, in this reading, don’t just move slowly; they monetize slowness, packaging stable traditions as prestige while the world outside updates at software speed. If you’re an actor - a profession where auditions, technology, tastes, and networks mutate constantly - an institution that teaches fixed pathways can feel like a museum charging admission.
There’s also a quiet class-and-career critique tucked inside. Obsolescence isn’t an abstract idea; it’s a bill coming due in the form of debt and mismatched skills. The line implies that for many students, the campus experience is a costly rehearsal for a job market that has already changed the casting call.
Contextually, it fits a late-20th/early-21st century mood: credential inflation, suspicion of admin bloat, and the sense that schooling sells reassurance more than readiness. The sting comes from how effortlessly the sentence punctures a sacred story.
Quote Details
| Topic | Learning |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
McCord, Kent. (2026, January 15). Instead, most colleges are studies in obsolescence. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/instead-most-colleges-are-studies-in-obsolescence-152555/
Chicago Style
McCord, Kent. "Instead, most colleges are studies in obsolescence." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/instead-most-colleges-are-studies-in-obsolescence-152555/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Instead, most colleges are studies in obsolescence." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/instead-most-colleges-are-studies-in-obsolescence-152555/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.








