"grad school is probably a waste, certainly most PhD's in the humanities are."
This rests on the assumption that learning is only valuable insofar as it helps the learner attain greater financial reward. You may define knowledge as a commodity which has value defined by national monetary systems, but those who pursue PhDs in the humanities wager the knowledge they gain in their pursuit of the degree has value in relation to their context greater than the value reflected in its commodification.
Meh. If I understand you correctly, you're saying that a humanities PhD might not have practical value, but it has value to some people because they like it and come out of it more worldly. I mean, sure, okay, but there is a qualitatively different type of advantage that comes with a technical PhD.
I don't disagree with you on any particular point. I was only stating that to dismiss a PhD in the humanities "as a waste" says a lot more about the position from which one makes that dismissal than about the humanities PhD itself.
This rests on the assumption that learning is only valuable insofar as it helps the learner attain greater financial reward. You may define knowledge as a commodity which has value defined by national monetary systems, but those who pursue PhDs in the humanities wager the knowledge they gain in their pursuit of the degree has value in relation to their context greater than the value reflected in its commodification.