While I agree with you, "what a dumb question" doesn't really contribute to the discussion.

In my opinion, getting your degree and teaching yourself or launching a product show two different types of initiative. If you've done both, you should get double points.

My comment about it being a dumb question certainly contributes to the discussion: it says that I think the question is intellectually bankrupt prima facie and that I don't think questions like it should be submitted in the future. I have a standard for intellectual discussion on Hacker News and this question doesn't meet it.

There may be a legitimate question hidden behind the non sequitur but if so one should ask that question, not require people to do some linguistic gymnastics to find the real question.

I agree with you, but the pretentious tone of your comment distracts from your point.

Sorry, I'm just attempting to beat Reddit away from HN with as big a stick as possible.

They are not mutually exclusive, but it's a matter of degree. Someone who is exclusively self-taught has the potential to demonstrate more initiative.

It only shows that the person is good at doing things that they find interesting. I am a largely self taught man but I have learned a lot of things in school that I am grateful for learning but probably wouldn't have spent a lot of time learning on my own. Probability & Statistics and DSP are two that come to mind off the top of my head. I probably would have done them to a cursory understanding and not spent the countless hours in class and studying that it takes to get a deeper level of knowledge. That is not to say that I wouldn't have been learning though; it just would have been in a different area.

Learning subjects and doing well in school shows a potential employer that you are indeed capable succeeding in doing things that do not interest you. This is a skill that is important to employers.