I think the biggest testament to this is the 50%+ dropout rates common in PhD programs. You're starting with some of the most intelligent, diligent, bright-eyed

I think the biggest testament to this is the 50%+ dropout rates common in PhD programs. You're starting with some of the most intelligent, diligent, bright-eyed young people on the planet and letting them work independently in a field that they presumably have a deep passion for. There's some truth to this, but the other reality is that academia is a pyramid scheme; the scheme worked from 1945 - 75, when higher ed grew rapidly, and has worked more or less poorly for PhDs ever since: https://jakeseliger.com/2012/05/22/what-you-should-know-before-you-start-grad-school-in-english-literature-the-economic-financial-and-opportunity-costs/ https://jakeseliger.com/2012/05/22/what-you-should-know-befo.... The "deep passion" can also meet academic politics, the need for stable income, the insanity of the peer-reviewed journal system, sadistic or simply indifferent advisors, a lunatic dissertation committee, and so on. There are likely some solutions to some of these problems; the elimination of tenure could be one, or the creation of the "teaching" PhD that consists of four years of coursework with a relatively small amount of research, with the degree awarded based on whatever papers have been written or contributed to, or whatever experiments have been done.