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Peter Thiel made billions from PayPal and Facebook, and now he’s out to change the world.

The radical libertarian Thiel has given up on democracy — that experiment went south when women got the vote, he says — and is investing heavily on space exploration and ocean-surface homesteading in hopes of escaping the rabble. Really.

But while those projects — like his interest in life extension and cryogenics — are nutty but mostly harmless, his latest venture is deeply pathological. He’s leading up a group of investors in the Thiel Fellowships, a program of hundred-thousand-dollar grants to teenaged geniuses who promise to drop out of college.

Really.

“The University of Arizona,” Thiel backer William Andregg declares in a Thiel Fellowship press release, has “no course on ‘how to cure aging.'” That may be true, but it does have whole departments full of courses in fields like biochemistry, genetics, and gerontology. Those courses may not teach you how to cure aging, but they’re pretty good places to get the tools you’ll need for such a project.

Some people get along great without college, of course, and maybe the Thiel Fellows will be in that number. A hundred thousand bucks goes a long way. But come on, Pete. You can’t come up with something better to do with two million dollars than to discourage education?

Today I’m going to be on the radio here in New York at 12:40 pm, talking about the new documentary Chekhov for Children. The film tells a bizarre and wonderful story out of the NYC of the 1970s — a story about public schools and the arts and what childhood is really like.

On Thursday Chekhov for Children has its New York premiere at Lincoln Center. The screening is at 6:30 pm, and I’ll be appearing on a panel discussing the movie right after the show. Tickets are still available.

And on Friday morning I fly to Montreal to participate in the conference Universities at the Crossroads: Crisis in Post-Secondary Education at McGill University. The conference, which begins at 3 pm, is free to attend and open to the public. I’ll be speaking and answering questions from 5:30 to 7:00, with a wine and cheese reception immediately following.

All that plus I get to teach the Bill of Rights, the flappers, and the history of ancient India at my day job. Should be fun.

This is my one-thousandth post to this blog.

That’s it. Just thought you should know. If there’s anything on your mind you’d like to share, feel free.

The top ten most-read posts of the week just ended:

1. Sex Tourist Professor Scrubs His Site

My tour through the sex tourism website of CSU Northridge professor Kenneth Ng, as cited in my most recent Huffington Post piece.

2. 28-Year-Old Congressional Candidate Krystal Ball Fights Back

A young candidate refuses to apologize for photos that caused a scandal.

3. Reports: Rutgers Student Killed Himself After Roommate Videotaped Him In Gay Encounter

My first and most widely read post on the Tyler Clementi tragedy.

4. Yale Frat Apologizes For Rape Chant

Yale’s DKE fraternity was caught on video chanting “No means yes! Yes means anal!” (See also my coverage of another similar incident.)

5. Georgia Regents Ban Undocumented Students From Selective Colleges

The state became the third in the nation to bar “illegal” immigrants from some of its state universities.

6. University of California Budget Director Floats Possibility of System’s Largest Ever Fee Hike

A UC official says a fee hike on the table at next month’s meeting could be even bigger than last year’s shocking increase.

7. Another Shutdown at the University of Puerto Rico?

UPR students shut down ten campuses for two months this spring. Now they’re mobilizing against a new tuition hike.

8. The Question for Activists Is Always How to Use Available Tools Effectively

A friend offers an excellent, practical rebuttal to Malcolm Gladwell’s piece on social media.

9. October 7 National Day of Action Map

Everyone’s still curious about what went down. See also follow-up posts here and here.

10. On the “Why Can’t Whites Have a White Student Union” Question

A perennial favorite.

The student government of the University of Iowa is holding an on-campus tailgating party before today’s Iowa-Michigan game, and drinks will be served.

In recent years, American campuses have mostly dealt with problem drinking through prohibition — banning alcohol entirely, and imposing heavy penalties on violators. But the Iowans are taking a different tack, supporting responsible drinking by bringing it out into the open.

Today’s party will be held at the university union. Students 21 and over will be able to purchase up to two beers, and the game — which is taking place on the road — will be broadcast on a big screen television.