>you fundamentally misunderstand what is actually happening at universities What is actually happening is that in many cases "researchers" chase fame and money

>you fundamentally misunderstand what is actually happening at universities What is actually happening is that in many cases "researchers" chase fame and money, not academic excellence. They have no time to teach "idiot undergrads", as you nicely put it, because they are busy running their consultancies on the side. [I am in Boston, I see a lot of this first-hand, in "elite" schools in particular]