I think you miss the pint slightly. Tons of musicians make great music, but the supply of good music is much higher than the market for listening can absorb.

I think you miss the pint slightly. Tons of musicians make great music, but the supply of good music is much higher than the market for listening can absorb. I have friend sin bands that play great music. They will never make it big because they're in such a crowded field only dumb luck or sheer brilliance will make them be picked up by the market. So the point is that - even if people in academia are producing brilliant, applicable, great research, the truth is that academia produces more supply,than the market can bear. In such a case, it's like great musicians - most will have to be overlooked and only a tiny few will make a difference, either through brilliance, dumb luck or evil plotting.