4 ms·

They also put a 23 year old to essentially greenlight or stop NSF grants. https://www.techdirt.com/2025/06/02/a-23-year-old-crypto-bro-is-now-vetoing-nsf-grant

They also put a 23 year old to essentially greenlight or stop NSF grants. https://www.techdirt.com/2025/06/02/a-23-year-old-crypto-bro-is-now-vetoing-nsf-grants-while-staring-at-his-water-bottle/ https://www.techdirt.com/2025/06/02/a-23-year-old-crypto-bro... I just don't understand how these people can do what they do? If I was a fresh college grad, and put in that position - to have the final say on whether experts in their fields can get grants, to conduct research on something I have no expertise in...I don't think I could do that job. I'd feel like the biggest empty suit in existence. Don't they feel any shame? Or do they suffer from some superiority complex, where they think that whatever knowledge they have in AI/ML makes them the smartest person in the room? EDIT: Reading through it, at least the guy acknowledges his errors.

morkalork 1y ago
There is a belief that by having grants address DEI and other issues, you're already putting them at the mercy of unqualified individuals and as such "what's good for the goose is good for the gander". Now of course there's some pretty big, atrocious, historical reasons why those parts of the grant application exist.
kevin_thibedeau 1y ago
> I just don't understand how these people can do what they do It's narcissistic personality disorder. The 45th administration had a surfeit of responsible adults putting up guard rails to contain the future felon. This one has taken the Hitler youth approach to recruiting like-minded individuals with an inflated sense of their own competence. Minimal critical thinking skills and life experience are a checkbox in the hiring process.
insane_dreamer 1y ago
> I don't think I could do that job. I'd feel like the biggest empty suit in existence. You don't have that level of arrogance. But I've met people who do. They're the worst people to work with.

morkalork 1y ago

There is a belief that by having grants address DEI and other issues, you're already putting them at the mercy of unqualified individuals and as such "what's good for the goose is good for the gander". Now of course there's some pretty big, atrocious, historical reasons why those parts of the grant application exist.

kevin_thibedeau 1y ago

> I just don't understand how these people can do what they do It's narcissistic personality disorder. The 45th administration had a surfeit of responsible adults putting up guard rails to contain the future felon. This one has taken the Hitler youth approach to recruiting like-minded individuals with an inflated sense of their own competence. Minimal critical thinking skills and life experience are a checkbox in the hiring process.

insane_dreamer 1y ago

> I don't think I could do that job. I'd feel like the biggest empty suit in existence. You don't have that level of arrogance. But I've met people who do. They're the worst people to work with.