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Episode 018: Jean Fan on taking a year “on” before Stanford

On episode 018 of Meet Education Project, Jean Fan from UnCollege joins the program to talk about taking a “Gap Year” before heading to Stanford, why exposure is more important than smarts, and why more learners should think about taking a year “on”.  Don’t miss this!

 

Guest Bio:

Jean Fan works to significantly increase human capacity for learning. She believes that the ability to learn is mankind’s most powerful skill, a skill that can radically change the quality of our lives.

She acts upon this mission in two ways:

1) Changing mindsets

Jean advocates for educational freedom.

For the past year and a half, Jean has advocated for educational freedom on behalf of UnCollege, an organization that helps people take control of their education. Right now she is taking a gap year before attending Stanford University, where she was accepted in the spring of 2013.

Jean has appeared on HLN TV to talk about how important it is to make deliberate decisions about your education. She wrote a widely-read piece on EdSurge about why she skipped Stanford last September. Most recently, she spoke about taking a gap year in Norway at TEDxBergen.  Her awesome video is below:

2) Improving technology

Really exciting technology is being developed right now.

She’s excited about scientific fields that aim to dramatically increase intelligence.

So for the time being, Jean is doing a lot of learning. Specifically, she is learning about AI, IA, and nanotechnology — fields that in the future will work together to dramatically increase intelligence. Jean is particularly interested in projects relating to deep learning and brain-computer interfaces.

 

Shout outs:

UnCollege

The Disadvantages of an Elite Education” by William Deresiewicz

 

Dinner Date:

Eric Drexler:  One of the founding fathers of nanotechnology

 

As always, thanks to our sponsors!

Highlander Institute

Squarespace:  For 10% off your first purchase, go to squarespace.com and use offer code MEP12!

 


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