Dan GoodmanApr 6, 2024

If you're considering a life in academia it's worth watching this video and deciding if it's worth it to you or not. All of this is true.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKiBlGDfRU8

For me the answer is yes, despite all the problems, for two reasons.

Firstly, I'm lucky enough that I do have considerable freedom to work on the things that I'm interested in. If I was more interested in success or if I was on a 'soft money' position and forced to chase constant grants, I don't know if that would be true. But, such luck is rare.

Secondly, as a socialist I would feel very uncomfortable spending my creative energy on most of the non-academic things I'm qualified for: advertising and surveillance (i.e. tech companies), finance, or startups (making venture capitalists even richer). I could imagine academia getting bad enough that I'd make that choice, but for me it's not there yet. I completely understand that it is that bad for others and I mean no criticism of them.

In a way I suppose this is a sort of defence of academia, but it's a half hearted one at best. I think it's absolutely tragic and depressing that academia has become like this. Doing research should be one of the most joyful and creative things anyone could do with their lives.

Didn't know about this before posting and I think because of the interesting discussion that followed I'll leave my post up, but do see this comment since it seems the author of the YouTube video has some problematic views.

https://synapse.cafe/@axoaxonic/112225621387460997

My dream died, and now I'm here

YouTube
Show threadJEG
@neuralreckoning Spot on. I'm a bit surprised by how much physics resembles biomedical sciences in this respect.
Personally, even though I have a stable academic job, I'm in a similar crossroad. I'm not sure I'll be able to work in the stuff I'm interested on, and the options I have are not interesting at all - to me. I even have some funding and a brilliant student who wants to work on it. Still, here we are. For the first time in my life I wonder whether leaving academia is the best option.
Apr 6, 2024 at 6:58pmWeb
Show threadJEGApr 6, 2024
@neuralreckoning I mean I love science, and really like teaching. The problem - well described in the video - is that science become a grant, publication and promotions chasing endeavor. And we all know how we got here. The 'merit-based evaluation' discourse worked beautifully to turn science into a business-model for ideological reasons. But it goes totally against science principles. The optimist in me believes this can't last long, it's unsustainable. The optimist in me is often disappointed.
Show threadJohannesApr 6, 2024
@JoseEdGomes @neuralreckoning
What resonated with me was how she described her disillusion, that moment when dreams gave way to drudgery, when grants aren’t just a means to an end but have become the end.

I think, in research a lot is wasted because the very system that is supposed to drive efficiency through metrics dulls people’s creative spark. I don’t think (in biomed) out-of-the-box proposals are unfundable, but the relentless Red Queen race drains people’s capacity to dream them up.