Extrinsic here means "extrinsic to self", not "extrinsic to academia". There's plenty of "extrinsic" motivation within academia. When you go to top universitie

Extrinsic here means "extrinsic to self", not "extrinsic to academia". There's plenty of "extrinsic" motivation within academia. When you go to top universities, you'll find plenty of academics who are extrinsically motivated: * Number of research papers * Cumulative value of grants * Awards * Titles. This was insane. Apparently being a Fellow of the IEEE wasn't enough, so they actively sought becoming Fellows in adjacent societies.