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Well I mean Einstein, Netwon, Maxwell, and Galileo were probably more valuable to advancing our understanding of physics than every one of their contemporaries

Well I mean Einstein, Netwon, Maxwell, and Galileo were probably more valuable to advancing our understanding of physics than every one of their contemporaries combined. The funny part is that Einstein wasn't even in academia until after he was famous. If anything this speaks to me that we want only those people in the field who would do it even if there was no reward for they will be the ones who produce earth shattering breakthroughs.

bumby 4y ago
I agree, but it seems like a lot of modern research requires resources that make it difficult for independent people to contribute.
kelipso 4y ago
> The funny part is that Einstein wasn't even in academia until after he was famous No...he was doing his PhD when he published the special relativity and other papers that made him famous.
- oldprogrammer2 4y ago
  But wasn't he working at a patent office? I was under the impression that working on a PhD at that time and place would not have been considered "in academia", in that he was not teaching or assisting.
  - kelipso 4y ago
    He was but I guess definitions vary and I'd consider working on your PhD makes you definitely be in academia.
- aborsy 4y ago
  I am not sure if this is true. I think he was in a patent office when work was done and published in 1905.
nonrandomstring 4y ago
Well not "earth shattering" by any means, but I did all of my research and published with MIT while entirely outside the university system. Everything I achieved was despite, not because of the university system, which having previously encountered I knew would only obstruct my work. What really helped was the internet, patiently emailing other researchers and kindly being sent papers. Without that generosity and the fact that in 2005 people in my field (DSP) kept personal websites, it would not have been possible. Fortunately in many areas of computing research, you don't need much equipment, or it is cheap or even free to get your hands on. I fee sorry for people who work in physics or fields that need expensive specialist facilities for their work. This is why I vehemently support SciHub and hope other budding researchers get the same breaks that I did, without having to kill themselves in dead institutions. Having had one foot back in academia for 10 more years now I am absolutely convinced it is doomed. The death spiral of efficient self-cannibalism is reaching a frenzy. Outside a handful of top tier institutions they are not even fit places for teaching and learning, never mind original research. It is so sad what "ideology" can do to great institutions and nations.
lincpa 4y ago
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bumby 4y ago

I agree, but it seems like a lot of modern research requires resources that make it difficult for independent people to contribute.

kelipso 4y ago

> The funny part is that Einstein wasn't even in academia until after he was famous No...he was doing his PhD when he published the special relativity and other papers that made him famous.

oldprogrammer2 4y ago
But wasn't he working at a patent office? I was under the impression that working on a PhD at that time and place would not have been considered "in academia", in that he was not teaching or assisting.
- kelipso 4y ago
  He was but I guess definitions vary and I'd consider working on your PhD makes you definitely be in academia.
aborsy 4y ago
I am not sure if this is true. I think he was in a patent office when work was done and published in 1905.

nonrandomstring 4y ago

Well not "earth shattering" by any means, but I did all of my research and published with MIT while entirely outside the university system. Everything I achieved was despite, not because of the university system, which having previously encountered I knew would only obstruct my work. What really helped was the internet, patiently emailing other researchers and kindly being sent papers. Without that generosity and the fact that in 2005 people in my field (DSP) kept personal websites, it would not have been possible. Fortunately in many areas of computing research, you don't need much equipment, or it is cheap or even free to get your hands on. I fee sorry for people who work in physics or fields that need expensive specialist facilities for their work. This is why I vehemently support SciHub and hope other budding researchers get the same breaks that I did, without having to kill themselves in dead institutions. Having had one foot back in academia for 10 more years now I am absolutely convinced it is doomed. The death spiral of efficient self-cannibalism is reaching a frenzy. Outside a handful of top tier institutions they are not even fit places for teaching and learning, never mind original research. It is so sad what "ideology" can do to great institutions and nations.

lincpa 4y ago

[dead]