You should have read the thread more carefully. OP says that he doesn't really want to go to Uni, but was more interested in just moving to America, and just live there and work. Seeing that he has apparently never been to America, i would say that moving there to settle would qualify as putting your eggs in one basket.
As for taking a year off and travelling the world, i would most certainly consider it a productive activity. You get a chance to interact with people of different cultures, see amazing places, and in the process hopefully learn a great deal about yourself.
Have you considered the possibility that not everyone shares your slightly narrowminded definition of education and travelling? We might not be interested in "keeping the ball rolling" in the way you portray it. Not everyone see the world the way you do. Just saying.