to the extend that your environment demands specific knowledge from you. Common sense is a derivative, is the outcome of critic thinking and experience, native intelligence often falls short because we are living in a world when more and more specialized skills are demanded.

Learning gives you knowledge;and nothing else. What you do with that knowledge depends on whether you have any intelligence;or "common sense" as you call it. A fanciful example: A robot can be programmed to learn a million facts. but it needs a very special program for it to draw conclusions from those facts.

I agree for the most part with tigueron. I would have to also point out that I know a lot of well-educated people that have very little common sense and seemingly even less intelligence. I don't believe that formal education is anywhere near the only avenue to gaining knowledge or information. It is certainly not the only way to achieve wisdom. Most of what people see as intelligence within someone is really just a beautiful combination of innate common sense and knowledge picked up throughout one's life, all present within an open, thoughtful, receptive and intelligent mind.

Actually, and I wish I could provide the link but this is just common sense, the bottom quarter of college graduating classes would have been better off not going. They spent four, five or even six years acquiring skills they can't sell, paid through the nose for it and weren't earning money all that time. Unless you like school and are sure you can do well in it, get job training instead of college.

A lot of the most successful people in the world are not College educated. People like Bill Gates and Richard Branson are street wise ( not in the general American sense of street wise). They are intelligent and sharp have learnt how to apply the skills that they were born with to the market place of life. Branson was thrown out of school at sixteen . He borrowed 400 pounds about 550 dollars and look where it got him. That is Native intelligence and common sense put to good use

I believe quite a bit. I only have a high school diploma yet I know more than a lot of people. There are people with ASE certs that can't answer car questions that I can. Ditto with A+/MSCE and computers. And mechanical and electrical engineering. How certified was Einstein? Or Nikola Tesla? Do you have any smart older relatives that are successful despite lack of formal schooling?

It really depends on what you mean by education. If you mean formal schooling I would think you should get at least a high school diploma even if you have to finish it via corrospondence course or internet learning. I know a woman personally who needed to have a a masters degree in order to advance in her career. She got it through an internet school and as that was her only obstacle to advancing is now Superentendant of Schools where she lives. But seriously I think your real education starts after you finish your formal schooling. Even a high school diploma would be unneccesary if you become self employed or start your own business. Most people only know what you tell them about yourself. So don't tell them. Still you would need to continue your ecucation learning the requirements of running your own business. And how to keep your taxes as low as possible. Quite a lot to learn. Your self education never ends. There is always more to learn as things change throughout your life. The only real difference I have noticed between those who are succesful in life and those who are not is successful people learned how to save money no matter what and learned how to manage money. Doesn't matter if you are the most intellegent and best formally educated person around. If you cannot manage your money life will always be a desperate struggle. No amount of education, native intellegence, or common sense can make up for not being able to manage your own money.

Well, they do give jobs to people based on experience, not just degrees. They also give people honorary degrees for their achievments. So, I think with native intelligence and common sense, you can give yourself your own education.