>> Academic institutions are loaded up with people who are skilled at political manipulation and bureaucratic infighting, and who often have little real interes

>> Academic institutions are loaded up with people who are skilled at political manipulation and bureaucratic infighting, and who often have little real interest in their supposed field of research. For these types it's basically a game of getting in with the reviewers of grant proposals, rubbing elbows at scientific conferences, hiring technicians and postdocs and maybe some pHD students to generate a steady stream of papers, cozying up to university administration, attending dinners and so on. This is an accurate description of the current situation!