I suspect one of the big advantages that money brings to the kids of the rich is to have not only one-on-one education, but also the best-of-the-best in each subject.
That said:
> classical studies
While this may be the "cornerstone of an elite higher education" as Wikipedia calls it, IMO (like studying Shakespeare[0]) I'm not convinced it is a productive use of time.
Don't get me wrong, nerd out about anything you like, but a lot of the world shifted since then. The overlap between what you learn from studying people who thought the sun was a chariot drawn over the sky by magic horses and that the Sahara was caused by some idiot driving them wrong, and what you need to know to deal with a highly connected globally integrated supply chain, is not exactly zero; but childhood is limited and you are likely better off focusing on what's actually in the modern world.
That said, of the few ways it is still useful is likely as shibboleth for the powerful to know one another.
[0] Shakespeare's closer to us than the ancient Greeks and Romans, of course, but still a very different world, the plot of e.g. Merchant of Venice just can't happen today. Plus he was seen as merely "good" rather than "the best"[1] within his own life, was clearly reworking other older tales for his audience[2], his plays were his era's version of somewhere between MCU, a soap opera, and stand up: the goal was bums on seats not high art, it was watched by a broad audience including normal people not just the era's version of evening-wear, crowd participation was a thing, actors would need to be reminded their lines in the middle, etc.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reputation_of_William_Shakespe...
[2] e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sources_of_Hamlet, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amleth, why yes I do only know about Amleth from SMBC
> The overlap between what you learn from studying people who thought the sun was a chariot drawn over the sky by magic horses and that the Sahara was caused by some idiot driving them wrong, and what you need to know to deal with a highly connected globally integrated supply chain, is not exactly zero.
The classical epics speak of heroism and virtue. Understanding certain human morality which is timeless is very useful.
It's not like education in practical domains like CS or supply chain are highly efficient either. Something which forms your outlook is important. While most of the modern literature is not that influential, kids should read the Iliad, Odyssey and Havamal.
Value in knowing that virtue ethics is a thing, yes, but also value in knowing how it compares with consequentialism and deontology.
Classical heroes are not generally good people in the modern sense; they are powerful people. Think The Boys and Watchmen rather than by Marvel and DC. Even supposedly anti-hero modern characters like The Punisher and Deadpool are closer to/less far from the modern understanding of heroism than the ancient heroes are. Though I guess James Bond would be about right, he's a lot more like the classical heroes in that he's generally misogynistic and his violence is directed at The Other, with Q serving in the role of Hermes giving Perseus winged sandals, a sword, and a cap of invisibility.
> Havamal
ᚦᛖᚹᛁ᛫ᚲᚨᚾ᛫ᛞᛟ᛫ᚦᚨᛏ᛫ᚠᛟᚱ᛫ᚠᚢᚾ
ᛁ᛫ᚨᛗ᛫ᚾᛟᛏ᛫ᚲᛟᚾᚹᛁᚾᚲᛖᛞ᛫ᛁᛏ᛫ᛁᛊ᛫ᛗᛟᚱᛖ᛫ᚹᚨᛚᚢᚨᛒᛚᛖ᛫ᚦᚨᚾ᛫ᚹᚨᛏᚲᚺᛁᛜ᛫ᚲᚨᛈᛏᚨᛁᚾ᛫ᛈᛚᚨᚾᛖᛏ᛫ᛟᚱ᛫ᛈᛚᚨᚹᛁᛁᛜ᛫ᛞᚢᚾᚷᛖᛟᚾᛊ᛫ᚨᚾᛞ᛫ᛞᚱᚨᚷᛟᚾᛊ
(Was I taught this in school? No. Did I have the kind of mother who kept some runic divination books around even though I was theoretically being raised Catholic and going to church in part because the best local school was a Catholic school, and thereby teach myself to read the inscription around the outside of the dustcover of the first edition of The Hobbit? Yes).
> Classical heroes are not generally good people in the modern sense; they are powerful people.
I think it's more apt to say that classical heroes were envisioned as 'real' people. While I think almost all people are inherently moral, nobody is "good" in the way that we often like to portray - it's a facade. That facade did not exist in the past, and I think it makes the works consequently much more human in nature.
Shakespeare really hurt you didn't he :D
IMO study whatever you like, no? For me being deeply immersed in a topic that doesn't 1:1 translate to an improvement on the CV is its own pleasure. This way I get to read (complex stuff) for pleasure because it isn't connected to the career hamster-wheel. There is no pressure, while at the same time directly improving my foundation - whether that is Philosophy, pure Math or niche-History does it matter?
> better off focusing on what's actually in the modern world.
this might change your mind: https://www.suhrkamp.de/rights/book/andreas-reckwitz-loss-fr... (If you only want to study what's actually happening in the modern world, this is the one that explains the loss from Modernity through a sociological lense)
I recall N.N. Taleb also making some good points about why to read books that have stood the test of time rather than a best-seller.
> Shakespeare really hurt you didn't he :D
Nah, just find him overrated.
I give the elevator pitch version, people respond as if I've not given it any thought at all, so I might as well add a few more words in the first version so I don't have to reply with a metaphorical eye-roll.
> this might change your mind: https://www.suhrkamp.de/rights/book/andreas-reckwitz-loss-fr... (If you only want to study what's actually happening in the modern world, this is the one that explains the loss from Modernity through a sociological lense)
Thanks for the link, but I already have quite a lot on my to-read list.
> I recall N.N. Taleb also making some good points about why to read books that have stood the test of time rather than a best-seller.
Thinking of other authors I find overrated… :P
If you want to effectively acquire a broad understanding of the human condition as it has been understood throughout history, the great books of the classical tradition (including, yes, myths and fables that talk about e.g. the sun being driven across the sky by magic horses!) will do a far better job of that than just about anything that was written in the 20th or 21st centuries. Young kids have the kind of cognitive development that's required to make good progress on that, while they would be very limited wrt. understanding anything other than the very basics of math and science.
αἴκα.
Less laconically, point is "as it has been understood throughout history" << "as is today".
You want to understand today? That means following this, both at a surface and meta level: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sHBb4cMUsTs
This is so endearing and so rad at the same time :)
AND totally on point.-