Anyway, this commencement address is interesting because I think DFW identifies something very fundamental in the idea that being well-adjusted should be as important as being educated.
His gentle mocking of the format of the speech is a cute introduction but the content is loaded with musing I can relate to about getting through modern life. I've kinda dropped out of it a bit recently and there isn't much to encourage me to get back into the rat race.
It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over:
"This is water."
