The process the author describes is almost identical to the one I've experienced, despite the fact my area of research is different than his (machine learning),

The process the author describes is almost identical to the one I've experienced, despite the fact my area of research is different than his (machine learning), but his analysis of the results drastically differs from mine Its true, 90% of the stuff doesn't work/isn't applicable and I have spent more money on buying papers than on rent in the past year, and I spend many days working on stuff that often has little or no positive effect. But its still the most cost effective research you can do, after you factor in the value of your time. Every new idea I develop on my own takes far longer to develop and test, and trying to get better results than everyone else is a lot easier when you're basing your progress on the cutting edge instead of something that is a decade old.