Yes. A liberal education is supposed to prepare you to be able to learn anything else you need for the rest of your life; to do so, it must expose you to strange and odd things which are nevertheless considered valuable.

If you just wanted to learn Java, there are faster and cheaper methods.

The point of a liberal education is to help the student understand the world around them. Somewhere along the way, many colleges realized it was lucrative to convince people that the point of a liberal education is to engage in frivolous hobbies considered valuable by the people who share those hobbies, and millions of people with worthless "educations" are now suffering for it. That's what clubs are for.

Out of many a frivolous hobby doth spring the rarest kernels of civilizational triumphs.

This is true, but society should not encourage young people to accumulate crushing debt to do hobbies.

Root problem seems to be employers should not gatekeep employment over a certificate showing you accumulated crushing debt to do academic hobbies.

No arguments on the crushing debt. A strange peculiarity for the wealthiest economy on Earth.

End that sentence with a period after debt and I'll agree entirely.

America has a possibly fatal case of capitalism.

>If you just wanted to learn Java, there are faster and cheaper methods.

I disagree, a book like Finnegan's Wake has a lot in common with Java. Think about a clean, clearly written book that tries to craft an enjoyable narrative, such as Snow Crash, that's the python of books. Now a book like Finnegan's wake, the narrative is completely impenetrable, instead the author focuses on other things like wordplay, sound play, rhythm, etc. In the same way, Java isn't so much about clearly and cleanly stating an algorithm, but more focused on the rules and regulations, terminology, the paperwork and formalities of programming. In this regard Java is more analogous to a legal tax code, but Finnegan's Wake is a good foundation for either.

Well, I'm a Canadian. And I paid off the small amount of debt I picked up during university with my first couple of paycheques as a software developer.

As an American, I did the same. Step 1: Go to a public university where you can pay in-state tuition.

I didn’t. I did 3 STEM degrees and then made some money and went back to school to study liberal arts part time.

I think studying liberal arts after having life experience is so much more rewarding — not to mention affordable (assuming you’ve done something with your life).

The payoff of studying liberal arts in your 20s is very different from when you’re in your 40s (my age). The context is much more salient and the practical applications become more visible.

Morris Chang (chairman of TSMC) once wanted to be a literature major and he has mentioned how studying Shakespeare has helped him to understand human behavior and the human condition.

They chose that class. The syllabus stated what they are going to study. Having an expert in a subject explain something you want to understand, is what you pay for. There are many ways of expanding your knowledge. To each his own.