Jordan Peterson - If you can think, and speak, and write, you are absolutely deadly

“if you can formulate your arguments coherently and make a presentation, if you can speak to people, if you can lay out a proposal, God, people give you money, they give you opportunities, you have influence.” From Jordan B Peterson's video "2017 Maps of Meaning 06: Story and Metastory (Part 2)": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsZ8XqHPjI4

Transcript:

And one of the things that just blows me away about universities is that no one ever tells students why they should write something. It's like, “Well, you have to do this assignment.” Well, why are you writing? Well, you need the grade. It's like, no! You need to learn to think. Because thinking makes you act effectively in the world. Thinking makes you win the battles you undertake, and those could be battles for good things. If you can think and speak and write, you are absolutely deadly. Nothing can get in your way. That's why you learn to write. It's like … And I can't believe that people aren't just told that. It's the most powerful weapon you can possibly provide someone with.

And, I mean, I know lots of people who've been staggeringly successful and watched them throughout my life. I mean, those people, you don't want to have an argument with them. They'll just slash you into pieces. And not in a malevolent way. It's like, if you're going to make your point and they're going to make their point, you better have your points organized, because otherwise you are going to look like and be an absolute idiot. You are not going to get anywhere.

And if you can formulate your arguments coherently and make a presentation, if you can speak to people, if you can lay out a proposal, God, people give you money, they give you opportunities, you have influence. That's what you're at university for.