In the ninth period of Lihuo, how much role can academic qualifications play?
Today, Chen Si will explain this issue from a metaphysical perspective. Let me first talk about its usefulness: We all know that the college entrance examination is like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge, and the competition seems very fierce, but it is still a gamble on a "high-probability event." Because the employment rate of undergraduates is relatively higher than that of junior colleges or vocational colleges, it is easier to find jobs in 985 and 211 universities than in ordinary universities. But - but, is the social environment still like this today?
We have all heard of the story of "carving a boat to look for the sword", right? The so-called "carving a boat to look for a sword" refers to the experience you summarized from the social phenomena encountered by your parents' generation when you were a child. Just like some elders live well because they married well, and some elders live well because they did well in exams, and then you can't help but copy their "path to success." However, what did the success of our predecessors rely on? It mainly depends on the social environment and historical background at that time. Do you think kids today can be the same as that generation?
We all know that we are now in the 20-year "Lihuo Jiuyun". What about 20 years ago? It is the "Eight White Earth Luck" (2004-2023), which corresponds to the rise of real estate. Friends who are familiar with Chensi know that I studied architecture and graduated in 2009, so I can be said to have reaped the benefits of the last decade. But what about the kids studying architecture or related majors now? How to face the downturn in the entire industry after graduation? Just like car salesmen today, some people can’t attract customers even if they wear black stockings and dance to “The Pussycat Dolls”; but in the 1990s, car buyers had to treat the salesmen to a meal or even give bribes under the table before they could pick up the car. Do you think today’s salespeople are not working hard? Stop it, they are fighting very hard!
Going back another 40 years, the "Seven Red Gold Luck" (1984-2003) corresponds to the 20 years of reform and opening up. The most typical example of someone who is driven by money to innovate is Wang Jianlin. He was born in 1954, the year of Jiawu, with the element of Guishui as his day element. He was weak and had many evil spirits. He started his own business in 1989, which was the beginning of his "Wuyin luck". His horoscope has a strong earth element and needs some wood. His fortune is good and it fits the "seal fortune" of the metal element. This is what I often say, "Heaven, Earth and Man" are all included - the original eight characters are at the "man" level, the fortune is at the "earth" level, and the era is at the "heaven" level.
Times have changed now, but times are always changing. Are you still looking for a sword on a boat? It's useless! Don't expect the times to remain unchanged; that's not something you can control. The same pattern of "marrying well" can the era of free marriage and the era of arranged marriage be the same? If those born in the 1980s and even some of those born in the 1990s have not entered into marriage before, it will probably be difficult for them to do so in the future, not to mention those born in the 2000s. This has nothing to do with who said what; it is purely the choice of the times. Some people are destined to become the "price" of a certain era.
Let’s talk about the college entrance examination: in an era of knowledge scarcity, academic qualifications are a halo; but in today’s information explosion, what is tested is cognitive ability. Times have changed. If parents and students continue to stick to the old ways and rely on past paths, it will only become more and more difficult.
Take choosing majors as an example. Many parents still believe in "popular majors" and even spend tens of thousands of dollars to seek consultation from popular online agencies. To be honest, it would be better for me to help my child look at his talent through his horoscope instead of wasting this money. What are popular majors? To put it bluntly, it is something that developed countries have but China does not yet. For example, televisions in the 80s, telephones in the 90s, computers in 2000, the Internet in 2010, and AI now... But if you go abroad and find that "we have everything that others have", I'm sorry, the popular majors are gone!
To put it more bluntly: being overly concerned about choosing a major just shows that the child doesn’t know what he or she wants to do or has no idea at all. Children with independent ideas no longer look at majors, but instead choose schools - schools that are highly competitive in the industry. Chen Si is a fortune teller, and he would like to say something mysterious: in any industry, if you cannot make it into the top 20%, you can only talk about survival, not development; but if you can make it into the top 20%, you are an expert. And those who can enter this circle rely not on academic qualifications but on talent!
Don't believe it? A while ago, Beijing was hit by strong winds for several days. The first person to predict it was not the Meteorological Bureau or a Feng Shui master, but a sophomore student in the Department of Mathematics at Beijing Technology and Business University (not a 985 or 211 university). I have loved astronomy since I was young and I persisted in it. I persisted because I liked it and I liked it because I had talent - where did the talent come from? It’s determined by fate and given by the eight characters, and science cannot explain it!
Let’s talk about academic qualifications: What is its real role? Is it ability? No, it's a threshold, a barrier that prevents outsiders from sharing the cake. In numerology, there is a distinction between "Bi Jian and Jie Cai": Bi Jian is a comrade-in-arms wearing the same pair of shorts, and Jie Cai is a rival who tries to snatch the cake, just like the Five Mountains Alliance and the Sun Moon Sect in "Swordsman". Why do alumni associations exist? Do you really think it's just about eating and drinking? No, it is to keep each other warm and exchange resources!
It’s the same in any industry, the pie is only so big. The logic of the threshold is: "I can't finish the cake, but I can only let my own people eat it." Ivy League schools, Peking University and Tsinghua University, 985, 211...each label is a "gang". Take real estate as an example: the predecessors who entered the industry in the 1990s may have only graduated from a second-tier university, but when I joined the company in the early 2000s, my colleagues already had graduates from Imperial College London and Peking University and Tsinghua University; now in some units, even the front desk staff of some unpopular majors in 985 universities are graduates. Is it really necessary to be so curly? unnecessary! Many high-paying positions do not require a high level of education, but HR will not lower the threshold - because this touches on the interests of the group.
Therefore, if society is like the martial arts world, academic qualifications are the sects and majors are the secret manuals of martial arts.
It is easier to understand if we use "Heaven, Earth and Man" to express it:
Life : Do you have talent? Are you good at studying?
Luck : Even if you have talent, will you be able to answer the college entrance examination questions easily? How was your physical condition on that day?
Feng Shui : Will the lucky days help you during the exams? Is the location of the examination room favorable? Which teacher graded the test paper? How is the other person feeling?
These all affect the final score. A truly skilled fortune teller will not use the eight characters to frame one's life, but will plan ahead through the laws of "Heaven, Earth and Man". An expert will not just tell you the result, but will help you prepare at the turning point of the energy flow (such as two years before the end of the major fortune).
Is the college entrance examination useful nowadays? I don’t jump to conclusions. However, in the next 20 years, the depreciation of academic qualifications will accelerate. If we continue to work hard in this way, the road will only become more difficult. But even so, the college entrance examination is still the fastest and most accurate channel for screening talents - those who can survive the third year of high school, with a little experience, can become a good brick for the Great Wall. Students from 985 and 211 may not be the smartest, but they are definitely the hardest working.
Finally, Chensi wishes all students to achieve ideal results and perform exceptionally well; we also hope that parents all over the world will be more tolerant and expectant of their children. After all, most of the time, we have no control over what happens in the future.