3 ms·
I really like this view of academic research in general. The field does not exist as a means unto itself, but as a tool for helping and contributing to humanity
by ke88y 3y ago
I really like this view of academic research in general. The field does not exist as a means unto itself, but as a tool for helping and contributing to humanity. A service mindset. That's how I have always viewed both research and teaching.
The most frustrating part of academia, and one of the main reasons I left, was the sense that everyone had completely lost their service mindset. The result is a set of sclerotic institutions -- protected from competition by rules and norms motivated by an ostensibly noble purpose -- wrecking havoc on society.
In research, in particular, it's now rare to find researchers who really give a damn about anyone except themselves. Their PhD students are tools for increasing faculty influence. The motivation section of their grants are polite lies and everyone knows it. The whole thing is a big inside joke that people laugh about in elevator bays, backed by billions of taxpayer dollars. The selfishness and complete disinterest in stewardship of public funds is nauseating.
But things are worst in undergraduate education. You occasionally meet someone worried about the educational mission, but no one was ever interested in the overall well-being of students. Financial well-being, in particular, is a verboten topic. The question of whether a particular degree program might be doing irreversible and crippling financial damage to nearly every student is considered rude. The question of whether requiring a certain course might be a waste of a customer's money is derided ("they aren't customers!", despite paying mid 5 figures per year for shockingly little face-to-face time.)
Academia has completely lost its historically service-oriented pursuit. The faculty are motivated by a combination of laziness, entitlement, and ego. The administration is motivated by the same incentives as any other industry. But huge quantities of tax dollars are locked up in this broken and corrupt industry.
- everybodyknows 3y agoIt would help if you could tell us about your specific positions in academia, those which informed these observations.
- ke88y 3y agoPhD student and faculty (quite briefly). Serving on grant panels also informed this view, but looking back, I think I was already getting disgusted by the culture of academia around my second year of grad school. My immediate family spent/spends much more time in academia than I, including the person I live with who has built their career in academia. My own experience of academia was actually quite positive -- I enjoyed my PhD years, was well-supported, received many tenure-track offers from elite institutions immediately out of my PhD, and I left on better than good terms with coworkers and former colleagues. My assessment isn't a result of personal bitterness or a failure to "win the game", if that's what you're getting at. Quite the opposite, in fact -- doing extremely well in the early career game afforded me the personal confidence to leave the track to which I had previously committed. (FWIW, the fact that I'll retire many decades earlier than I would've otherwise was not immaterial to my decision making)
- wolverine876 3y agoAs a paper, I'd send it back for revision - remove the hyperbole and 99% of the emotion, and focus on facts and strong reasoning that could persuade me. I know people in academia and they and their experiences don't fit this description. We get out in the real world and discover each individual has many motivations, both good and bad. It's messy and complicated. IMHO the insight is to realize that I am not the heroic protagonist, but instead I'm just as flawed, and then to try to bring out the best in myself and in them. > wrecking havoc on society Not even AIs or the online propapganda machines are doing that - though I kinda wish they would!