Conformists are the straight C and D students. They are the super majority. Everything and everyone caters to them and their taste and they are all about proud mediocrity. At least this opinion piece is a nice break from the endless succession of articles about the importance of getting one's ass through school ("or else you won't amount to shit"). Or is it? Those articles are almost never about the importance of studying and learning. They are mostly about the necessity of having the right papers to maximize one's earning potential. People pay lip service to the idea that "college is about learning how to learn", yet when they (even the tons of hackers on here) learn you're studying anything on your own, they let you know in no uncertain terms you can't possibly learn anything on your own unless you have an army of teacher/mentor/adviser/nanny/parent figure/guru/counselor/consultant/sensei/master/instructor/tutor/guardian/sugar parent/Satan slaying God by your side; not to mention colorful 1000 page doorstops with all important bits and parts removed for easy testing purposes. What does that say about American schools of higher learning? Are they just a glorified day care for adults who are after papers? If so (and maybe an open secret), why does American industry require students to go into debt to get expensive and worthless piece of paper to just even consider hiring them? That's unfair to students, both those who actually want to study and learn and those who just want a job.