Could you elaborate? You bring up an interesting possibility, but it is not intuitively obvious. In mathematics it is relatively easy to break into the field

Could you elaborate? You bring up an interesting possibility, but it is not intuitively obvious. In mathematics it is relatively easy to break into the field with the backing of an institution (I mean easy relative to doing the same thing in say English or History, not in an absolute sense). In fact, there is a long tradition of amateurs making some significant contributions, with Fermat being the crown (if now somewhat dated example.) Also, one of his major complaints is how long it takes to get the PHD. At least at UNLV (where I am currently seeking a master's in Math) most of my peers that are seeking their PHD expect to get it within 6 years after starting their graduate studies. While this is still longer than a usual JD or MD program, it is at the very low end of the 6-9 year spectrum that was discussed in the article. And while there is certainly a divide between theoretical mathematicians and their applied counterparts (or scientists who us mathematics) it is almost solely in choice of topic, not about disagreement over real facts, which you can see in some topics in the humanities between the professors and the general public.