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My friend (who completed a computational biology PhD but was dismayed by the small likelyhood of being able to do meaningful science and left to do a ML based s
by hkmurakami 12y ago
My friend (who completed a computational biology PhD but was dismayed by the small likelyhood of being able to do meaningful science and left to do a ML based startup) has taken the route of becoming independently wealthy himself and then privately fund researchers he personally knows with his own wealth.
One way to circumvent a broken system I guess.
- williamcotton 12y agoI feel like that would only work if many thousands of people had that attitude because the likelihood of a single person becoming independently wealthy is very small. Even if your friend was successful he would only be limited to assisting in a small number of scientific advances. Wouldn't it make sense for your friend to try and organize a group of people with similar goals so everyone can work together to achieve them?
- jacquesm 12y agoThat's one very nice and ambitious end-run around the system. I really hope that he succeeds.
- davidw 12y agoBy the time he's succeeded though, is he still likely to know people, and that they're doing good stuff?
- arjunnarayan 12y agoThis also describes David E. Shaw, who was denied tenure by Columbia University. He now spends most of his time at D.E. Shaw Research, where he basically does what he would have been doing as a tenured professor anyway.
- ScottBurson 12y agoI set out to try to do that... ah, 34 years ago. Still working on it :-)