>But at least in the US, there's a huge problem that the problems we have that can be solved are increasingly technical… I would have to agree with this statem

>But at least in the US, there's a huge problem that the problems we have that can be solved are increasingly technical… I would have to agree with this statement. >…requiring more and more education. I disagree with this statement if it means dealing with the BS that entails submitting oneself to the pipeline in order work on research. >Meanwhile, the incentives we're providing incentivize not getting more education. Oddly, I think this still holds true despite my disagreement with the above (if education == submitting oneself to the pipeline in order work on research). For myself, I write software for mobile devices and eeg hardware for research and data analysis in a neuro lab and have to consult with other labs around the world who want to do experiments and don't have those capabilities in house, without having a degree of any sort. Occasionally this involves reading papers from topics like DSP, EM, comp geometry, and neuroimaging on top of software/hardware documentation for use in such software. The post-docs and phd students I see are increasingly becoming inept when it comes to even conducting experiments and has lead to gross inefficiencies as more and more things require not only basic knowledge of computing and systems but other fields they are simply not exposed to on a practical degree. Even worse, there seems to be this expectation that they don't have to pursue/learn or do such things (probably because it wasn't covered in their syllabi and they wont receive a grade for it…), though I see a lot of superficial efforts at trying address such. I think as long as the dynamics continue as they are in academia, they will allow for opportunity for those who have skills sans degrees (not signals of skills) to find work that is meaningful for them and possibly society… that will bought and paid for those who willingly submit themselves to the usual pipeline (at increasing expense).