Most researchers applying for NIH grants aren't "random people"; all of them have gotten through PhD programs and potentially have done one or two postdocs, whi

Most researchers applying for NIH grants aren't "random people"; all of them have gotten through PhD programs and potentially have done one or two postdocs, which already indicates that they have sufficient "team experience" and are already quite accomplished in their own right. This article isn't saying that anyone should be able to get an NIH grant, but rather that grants should be awarded less due to politics and more based upon potential merit and the promise of an idea. I.e., This editorial is being published in Nature, not viXra. The central issue is not one of team dynamics, or rooting out inequality on a societal level, but rather about rooting out inequality among equally capable candidates. Currently, many academic fields are dominated by cronyism and that is what the article is advocating against.