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But I think the OP has a point that falling out of the top has nothing to do with cognitive ability. For instance, many researchers become known for certain con
by hervature 4y ago
But I think the OP has a point that falling out of the top has nothing to do with cognitive ability. For instance, many researchers become known for certain contributions and then eventually expected to remain in that field. If the landscape changes (say neural networks become the hot topic) then your research might fall in prestige but the level/complexity/quality does not. There are things beyond their control to prevent quick pivots let alone large pivots. A biologist cannot start doing NLP stuff. Then there is the problem of your graduate students who are doing other things and so the momentum to switch is very real.
- whimsicalism 4y agoHm. If someone in their 20s is able to make a major discovery for a problem they only heard of when they were 18, that is maximum 12 years of that line of research, which could certainly be replicated by someone older. you also see people in their 20s make big contributions to many disparate fields, like Tao.
- hervature 4y agoI think you are misunderstanding me. I'm saying that having time in the field is the exact problem. If you have established a pipeline of graduate students and you have 5 of them at various stages of completion. It's difficult to convince new students to join you in a new endeavor because no one in your group does that. Keep in mind, your role as a professor is to take on students. You would also face pressures from your current students to stay in the forefront of your field as that is what they are banking on getting advised from you. If you're 20 years old, you don't care about any of that, you just switch fields.