As market conditions changed so fast in those days and weeks, folks in the industry probably needed to cash out of previous investments, in order to invest their money in less risky markets.
Most likely, the very systems and theories that built the house of cards also decided to gather up their deck before someone else toppled it first.
Note: I'm no economist, nor expert, but neither are you (or anyone, anymore).
Pretty much all discussion boards are founded on the principle that "we'll actually have real conversation this time" or "don't say anything you wouldn't to the person's face."
They eventually grow and grow, then turn into SA:Forums or Digg, and people run off to create new places like HN. These then grow, get too big, and the cycle continues.
Honestly, I've stopped reading comments on HN altogether. The worldview that this group furthers is morally bankrupt and self-serving. The world doesn't revolve around you guys, really.
The pro-business, lets-make-millions-in-a-year attitude is beyond suffocating, and blocks out much of the discussion we can have here. I realize that some of the qualities that drew me here in the first place are rooted in these attitudes, but its quite gross to be surrounded by it. I find myself wishing I could use HN as my main news aggregator, but really, its not any higher quality than the competition.
This community could use a little sense of humor and humility sometimes...
You have a point, but don't forget that there are technical, analytical, and even quantitative aspects to the most fluffy-sounding fields.
It really depends on the program that you're attending. A well rounded Philosophy department will produce better hackers than a poorly-focused Computer Science department.
With all this talk of vocational training versus a real degree, I assert that a college degree without some form of Liberal Arts grounding is no degree at all.
Nobody plans on having a worthless degree after school, and no educator wishes to leave their student ill-equipped. No one wants to work at the Gap in the first place, and whether they have a degree in Communications or not is irrelevant.
Education, like a trip to the hospital, is a practice in fighting for yourself and getting what you came for.
Hell, one of my professors uses it as a primary distribution point for assignments and notes... for a Master's level class.