Ex-professor here. Reason for this is trivially obvious to any outsider observing the day of an academic: A dazzling torrent of time-wasting grant applications,

Ex-professor here. Reason for this is trivially obvious to any outsider observing the day of an academic: A dazzling torrent of time-wasting grant applications, awards and other such nonsense. The system is basically designed to take productive scientists, and waste them as quickly as possible. After all, how better to protect your mediocrity? Never been happier than after leaving...