Elon Musk Laughs at the Idea of Getting a PhD... and Explains How to Actually Be Useful!

In today's fast-paced world, many people are questioning whether pursuing a PhD is the best way to be useful. Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur behind companies like Tesla and SpaceX, has a thought-provoking take on this topic. He believes that, in most cases, getting a PhD may not be the most effective path to making a significant impact.

Musk suggests that individuals should focus on whatever they are trying to create and assess its potential utility. He emphasizes considering the utility delta, or the difference in utility compared to the current state of the art, multiplied by the number of people it would affect.

Musk's perspective highlights two main paths to being highly useful:

Creating something that makes a substantial difference but impacts a moderate number of people.
Developing something that makes a small difference but affects a vast number of people.

Essentially, Musk's message is clear: the key to being useful is not necessarily obtaining advanced degrees but rather focusing on innovation and its real-world impact.

Keywords

Elon Musk
PhD
Utility Delta
Innovation
Real-world Impact

FAQ

Q: Does Elon Musk think getting a PhD is useless? A: Not entirely. He believes that in most cases, obtaining a PhD may not be the best way to achieve usefulness.

Q: What does Musk mean by 'utility delta'? A: 'Utility delta' refers to the difference in utility or usefulness of a new innovation compared to the current state of the art.

Q: How can someone determine the most useful thing to work on? A: By evaluating the potential impact of their innovation, considering how significant the difference it makes and the number of people it affects.

Q: Is making a small difference worthwhile? A: Yes, if it impacts a vast number of people, even a small difference can be highly useful.