Unless you're talking about the height with the doors open being the problem, the Falcon Wings seem to require less space than the regular doors to open.
If you didn't notice, the picture on the linked page is interactive. Click-and-drag to open/close the doors to see.
I don't have a college degree. I just enrolled at a local college to finish my BS in Computer Science.
I've not exactly had trouble finding work, and make more than most college graduates. I'm going back because:
* I don't want my resume thrown out because I don't have a degree. The climate is great for developers right now, but that may not always be the case. I can handle taking classes for the two years it will take me to finish the degree for a little extra job security.
* I want to learn the stuff! Being as I'm gainfully employed without a college degree, it would appear that I'm an excellent self-learner. Sure, maybe I am, but I know myself, and I know I'll be more likely to stick with learning artificial intelligence and computation theory if I'm concerned about keeping my grade up.
* Also, on that end, I'm not good with advanced data structures. When interviewers break out questions that deal with these problems, I struggle. I could study more and learn them on my own, but the structure of a class makes it easier (to me).
* My employer is paying for most of the tuition costs. I probably wouldn't consider it worth it if they weren't.
I agree with most of your reasons as well. Especially the first one. Many people might think they're all set because they made it without a degree. An economic downturn could put them on the street and their resume in the trash any day.
Also, the community college. In-district tuition at community colleges is typically less than $4000 for the whole year. The in-state tuition at Purdue is about $10,000 per year. Assuming no grants or scholarships, that's $28,000 for a degree from Purdue (their graduate CS program is ranked #20 (us news), not too shabby).
I think it'd be a fair assumption that the percentage of Google employees with a perfect SAT score is higher than the national average. Just like the percentage of students at MIT with perfect SAT scores is higher than the national average.
Google employees aren't representative of the entire population.
I stared at the landing page for a few seconds, waiting for it to do something. Then, I clicked around furiously trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. Then I accidentally scrolled down and found the content.
If you didn't notice, the picture on the linked page is interactive. Click-and-drag to open/close the doors to see.