4 ms·
This is sensational title but things are taken way out of context. In academia, it's all about respect from peers. One can publish 100s of papers and it doesn't
by sytelus 5y ago
This is sensational title but things are taken way out of context. In academia, it's all about respect from peers. One can publish 100s of papers and it doesn't mean a shit. Only their peers know that they are shit. If your own department has low opinion of you then there is a lot of self-reflection needed. This might mean that you been busy on quantity rather than quality. Or that you are not a good collaborator.
MIT president gave a frank answer and there is nothing wrong with it. The "mediocre" or "good" research is defined by respect from your peers, not by number of citations or number of papers. Those metrics are gamed every day.
- vasco 5y agoSeems a bit pointed to speak so matter of factly about this being out of context unless you were there. For all we know the peers loved the author but "the boss" wanted to give tenure to someone else. The author is a bit naive though in this view of the world that either a place is either a pure meritocracy or the absolute opposite. Props to the president for being so candid with them and sharing what's what.