An Inquiry Into the Two Methods of Learning I: The Apodekteon

While most categorize autodidacts to strictly the realm of education, I see it of paramount importance to examine the further implications. Everyone knows that it is impossible to keep one aspect of life from spilling into all others; therefore, the appropriate question to ask to discover the further implications is to inquire "how does ones views on education effect their ability to be successful?" Lets organize educational views into two categories and answer the question for each one respectively:

1. Apodekteon (one must learn from others)
2. Autodidact (self-educated)

The Apodekteon is the more common of the two and easily identifiable. He is the kind that suffers without a teacher in the room and cannot learn without authority. He is the kind that lacks self-leadership and hates to take risks. He has to go to school, has to have home work, has to have an externally disciplined schedule in order to learn anything; otherwise he will learn nothing. 

Epistemologically (the study of how people know things), the Apodekteon knows things only through authoritative and empirical means; meaning either someone with authority tells him what is true, or the environment tells him what is true.

The Apodekteon at heart believes that he is the victim of circumstance and environment. He is only as good as his teacher, community, and friends. If he finds himself the child of wealthy parents in upstate new york with a prospect of attending Harvard, then he will succeed. However, if he find himself an orphan out on the street surrounded by other urchins, then he will be eternally destitute.

Therefore, how does being a Apodekteon effect his ability to be successful? Assuming that we are operating under the best case scenario, The highest point the most skilled Apodekteon can achieve is to be the CEO of a major company or a surgeon or a judge, because these positions in the economy are the highest lauded by the educational institutions. The Apodekteon will spend his life in the manner that we see those professionals spend their lives today; they go to school well into their 30's, then they lead their careers until they are 65, then they retire with a net worth of a some million dollars or so.

On the other hand, assuming the worst case scenario possible, the Apodekteon drops out of school, never learns another thing in his whole life, works at a gas station or is homeless and dies young and uncared for by friends and environment.