Could the UND's Space Studies program be the right fit for me?

[Joseph Peterson]

I've hated school ever since the Harrisonburg, VA public school system decided Aiken SC's solution, moving me up a grade for math and science, wasn't acceptable, put me in special ed, and tried to make me repeat 3rd grade.  Luckily my parents managed to keep me from having to repeat a year, but losing of being too smart for my class hurt badly.  Things didn't improve until sophomore year in high school when the district finally hired a special ed teacher who finally answered the question, "Why am I here?" with something other than, "Because the guidance counselor says so."  It took the rest of the year for the kids to forget the stigma, but for two glorious years after I was finally given the same respect the average geek or nerd got.

Unfortunately during that time the government decided to cancel the two projects I wanted to work on, the Semiconducting Supercollider and the Integral Fast Reactor.  With no concrete goals I settled for electrical engineering as computers were booming and job prospects looked rosy.  My thinking was I might not know exactly what I want to do but college was supposed to be better.  I'd figure it out when I got there.  My parents convinced me college ranking meant something, so I went against my gut and chose Carnegie Mellon over Illinois(Chicago was a late addition but I flubbed the interview).  As expected inspiration struck early.  Freshman computer science for engineers was artificial life.  The problem I discovered during the first week of class is we were trying to force binary logic onto a world where there are shades of gray.  What was, and still is, missing is a middle ground at the most basic level.  After a couple weeks of library time I convinced myself that building trinary logic gates was possible using then current technology.  Next I approached my Intro to ECE professor, then my adviser, who both told me I was wasting my time.  Disillusioned I slogged through the rest of the semester, ending up with two As and two Bs after I successfully challenges the CS professor's F because I'd written more efficient code for the D level final problem.  Spring freshman year was mono, although CMU medical insisted it had to be strep.  After that I was subjected to Professor Reed for Signals and Systems, and I was done with school again.  I did waste tens of thousands more on student loans trying to slog through, but I ended up earning my living throwing heavy stuff around after the industrial control panel shops were offshored to China.

Fast forwarding to 2012 found me with plenty of spare time on my hands after scar tissue from my back surgery made it very difficult to walk.  Armed with an internet connection, a library card, and plenty of spare time I began reading.  At the time rare earths were a concern, so I dedicated myself to learning about rare earth production.  My thinking was I still had some capital at the time, might as well earn some real returns.  It didn't take long to realize that China would reduce their prices in the face of competition and any investment I made would probably be lost in bankruptcy court.  Learning was fun again though, so I kept at it.  By 2016 I had acquired a broad knowledge base.  Commercial cargo and the promise of commercial crew had reversed the disillusionment the VSE created, and I came back to being a space geek with a vengeance.  I started adding aerospace engineering to my knowledge base.  As of today I have a good handle on what I am talking about.

Last night I finally did what I didn't know I've been staying in Pittsburgh to do, took a tour of Allegheny Observatory.  The tour started out with a history lesson, and the critical piece of information I was missing, Samuel Langley's brilliant discovery that time could be sold.  This story fits my macroeconomic model perfectly, including the government induced market destruction when the Navy started giving away time for free.  My model is good.  Now I have to figure out how to write the textbooks so the world can learn.

I still have two problems to overcome.  Despite what you may think from reading the words I type my ever-present autism makes it difficult for me to communicate.  My girlfriend says I've improved dramatically in the last seven years, but writing this short piece has taken far too long.  Speaking to people is still very difficult.  Now that I've learned how to improve all I need understanding that I'm still improving.  My other problem is I don't have one of those expensive pieces of paper modern society demands one must have to be taken seriously.

Enter the University of North Dakota.  The first thing I did when I got home was to once again search for universities offering a space macroeconomics degree.  Once again, nobody is teaching what I've learned.  This means I need to look for a school with the proper mix of expertise in the disparate fields I am combining.  UND's College of Engineering and Mines appears to have the technical knowledge base I require.  I'm less clear about the Department of Economics and Finance and the Department of Space Studies.

The first question I have is how bad are interdisciplinary rivalries?  One of my great shames was not being able to convince a more experienced ECE student to help me build a control system for the Buckyball reactor.  Most engineers simply didn't want to work with the physicists.  This type of refusal to work together will sink my effort.

The next question is whether the economists are willing to understand that marco and micro economics are symbiotic, not the completely separate disciplines so many economists believe them to be?

Then there is Space Studies.

There appears to be a focus on government space.  Government space isn't taking us to the stars.  Is UND DSS willing to embrace free market capitalism?

Are courses offered enough to get a degree in a timely manner?

Most importantly, are the professors liberal enough to consider currently alien ideas?

I've set myself up so I should be getting a sizable SSI check that will cover my expenses for going back to school.  I have one more shot.  This time I have to pick a school that is willing to learn from me.  Any advise is appreciated.