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At a certain point, you need to be force which pushes you forward. I saw a lot of intelligent people fail because they no longer had the external stimulus to go to class.
Also, it is easier to manipulate people in positions of power, but you have to understand how they think and are rewarded. There is a reason why a lot of liberal arts education is focused on having people understand others.
Also, the liberal arts education of a century ago was basically a degree which was intended to make managers. Along with it, the extra-curricular activities were an important part of the education, but just what happened in class.
Why is it easier to manipulate people in power? What makes them more vulnerable to manipulation?
A lot of the official liberal arts college education goes into understanding the perspectives of others, with a bias to people in power and their power structures. While not an explicit thing they are teaching you, college is teaching you how to understand power structures and the people within them.
If you have a better understanding of power structures, it becomes easier to push said structures to achieve your own goals since you can speak to power structures in their language instead of your own in order to get what you want.
Also, a lot of the clubs and other extra-curricular activities are designed to create small power bases to practice these techniques on.
It is a lot easier to get what you want when you can speak on other people's terms.
Where can I learn more about this? Recommend any books or any techniques? I'd love to learn more about power structures, and people in power.
In workplaces, I've seen people put themselves into positions of power, get roles their not qualified for, and influence managers to dislike people. Office politics.
There are a lot of historical books on various topics; i feel like a good spot is to pick an era and dive in.
Also, everything is politics, especially office work. Part of the purpose of college wasn't just to get people to gain knowledge, but to work up Bloom's Taxonomy by applying knowledge learned and analyzing it. Reading books might get you knowledge and maybe comprehension, but the value is in those higher levels.