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“This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

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Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#111

Post by mcguire »

w1ntermute wrote: post #15

Another possible (unspoken) reason why Gariépy is resigning is presumably that he's been a postdoc[0] for the last 3-4 years[1]. Unfortunately, the nature of modern biomedical research is such that you need an army of researchers to do the mechanical grunt work at the lab bench that leads to papers. This has led to a glut of postdocs, who are underpaid, overworked, and have little hope of ever obtaining a permanent a…

Or, hoping that his YouTube and authorial notoriety will pay for his ramen noodles after he ragequits.

There is a charitable way of looking at the same data.

Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#112

Post by [deleted] »

sanderjd wrote: post #20
w1ntermute wrote: post #15

Another possible (unspoken) reason why Gariépy is resigning is presumably that he's been a postdoc[0] for the last 3-4 years[1]. Unfortunately, the nature of modern biomedical research is such that you need an army of researchers to do the mechanical grunt work at the lab bench that leads to papers. This has led to a glut of postdocs, who are underpaid, overworked, and have little hope of ever obtaining a permanent a…

I downvoted this and I wanted to say why. It reads to me like a (perhaps well-researched) ad-hominem attack. Rather than speaking to the points raised by the post, you attempt to undermine the person who posted it.

[deleted]

Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#113

Post by w1ntermute »

mcguire wrote: post #111
w1ntermute wrote: post #15

Another possible (unspoken) reason why Gariépy is resigning is presumably that he's been a postdoc[0] for the last 3-4 years[1]. Unfortunately, the nature of modern biomedical research is such that you need an army of researchers to do the mechanical grunt work at the lab bench that leads to papers. This has led to a glut of postdocs, who are underpaid, overworked, and have little hope of ever obtaining a permanent a…

Or, hoping that his YouTube and authorial notoriety will pay for his ramen noodles after he ragequits. There is a charitable way of looking at the same data.

Given that he's quitting academia to become a stay-at-home dad (along with his YouTube/book endeavors), it's highly likely that his wife has a more remunerative profession than he does, and that that reality also figured into his decision. I doubt that affording basic necessities will be a concern of his.

Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#114

Post by mcguire »

svisser wrote: post #65

Relevant one-page article: "On “Write-Only” Conferences" - http://www.mit.edu/~irahwan/docs/IEEE-IS_letter2007.pdf (conferences in exotic locations for which you only need to submit an article to attend)

I don't quite get that letter. The IEEE has plenty of write-only conferences that are not in scenic locales; anyone who actually goes doesn't even get a good vacation, so no one actually attends. But it's still a publication.

Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#115

Post by calibraxis »

toomim wrote: post #89
w1ntermute wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You aren't listening to him. That's right, rather than taking his words at face value, I investigated the facts that he omitted from his narrative. They tell a slightly different story. None of that means that I don't share his opinions about the state of academic science.

I love new information, but your narrative conflicts with the existing facts: - He is not bitter - He did not leave because of failure Now it appears you aren't listening to me, because I've had to write this twice.

Interesting how "bitter" is important. Is it academia's codeword for unprofessionalism? A claim that someone lacks objectivity because their meatbody generated emotion along with reason?

(Was Newton any less of a scientist for often being "bitter"?)

Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#116

Post by tete »

I hear that a lot. It kind of made me certain that I don't want to go for a PhD.

I also frequently hear that it was a great time and that people should do it (very shortly summed up) "if they love science". But to be honest, there is a lot of people who are researchers and scientists without ever getting any kind of degree. Okay, not a lot as in the majority, but enough to be aware that it is valid to write papers, etc. and be accepted in research communities. I am not saying it is easy and it probably is way, way more unlikely, but then this sounds a lot like "if you really love science".

I also agree that the utility part will probably be harder, so it may depend a lot on what you study.

Those are all my assumptions, based on the things I heard. They are not really statements. I really want to hear what others think about that and especially where I am awfully wrong.

Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#117

Post by timtas »

Science is in trouble. Before long we'll owe an apology to medieval astrologers and barbers.

What’s wrong with Science (http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/2159154...)

How science goes wrong (http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21588069-scientific-re...)

I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss Here's How. (http://io9.com/i-fooled-millions-into-thinking-chocolate-hel...)

How computer-generated fake papers are flooding academia (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2014/feb/26/...)

Bad Science – Study on Gay Marriage Was Fake, Gets Retracted (http://www.zmescience.com/science/bad-science-michael-lacour...)

Some Online Journals Will Publish Fake Science, For A Fee (http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/10/03/22885995...)

The Mind of a Con Man (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/magazine/diederik-stapels-...)

Why Biomedical Research Has A Reproducibility Problem (http://footnote1.com/why-biomedical-research-has-a-reproduci...)

I could go on but...you know...Google.

Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#118

Post by jqm »

zo1 wrote: post #80
chubot wrote: post #9

I feel the same thing in huge companies in which the employees are insulated from market forces. Aren't we supposed to be, like, building stuff that users want? Rather than just trying to get promoted and game the system? IQ and motivation are independent variables... it's a shame when people with high IQs exert tons of effort in small-minded directions, or just toward fighting each other.

>" Aren't we supposed to be, like, building stuff that users want? Rather than just trying to get promoted and game the system? " That's the company's job, not yours. In fact, you are actually already doing it if you twist definitions a bit. The "user" is the company you work for, and you are the product. And you "gaming" the corporate-ladder system is you simply marketing the product (yourself) to your user/client s…

No. Absolutely no. A net positive is not being realized for humanity when you consider all the factors in this type of behavior. What this is a wasteful process of leaching excessive production into the bank accounts of people pretending to be productively engaged.

I have to agree with OP. Far too many big companies are busy trying to figure out how to game the system and cheat the consumers and have become filled with ladder climbers who have long since lost sight of the original mandate assigned to them by the system. This probably won't last very long historically speaking and it might not end well either. It's unbalanced, unjust, corrupt and just plain wrong.

Incidentally, the companies job is OP's job. Companies don't exist without people.

Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#119

Post by cma »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #59
cma wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think any funding system we come up with that gives out funds to uncredentialed children and stuffed animals is probably going to turn out to be a disaster. If systems have to pass that as a litmus test, I think many good systems would fail.

Very funny, but we're talking about a situation where they were fully capable of designing and building the device.

A system that needs to have no filtering so that kids don't get filtered out is unnecessarily broad. If it hits this one comic book false negative, too bad.

Re: “This week, I resigned from my position at Duke University”

#120

Post by [deleted] »

lmeyerov wrote: post #79
Al-Khwarizmi wrote: post #22

The CS field gets a lot of bashing for gravitating a lot around conferences rather than journals. Because, you know, journals are supposed to be the serious venue for the grown-ups. But actually, CS conferences (at least the ones I've published in) have a double-blind review system that feels much fairer than the single-blind in the top journals. Of course it's far from perfect (more often than not the reviewers can…

Double blind is a farce in practice in most CS specialties (maybe not bloated fields like AI/HCI/graphics?). Once you get to the top tier, everyone knows everyone, including the industrial labs, including what they're working on. Most good work is too differentiated to anonymize to well-versed readers: less Neural Networks for X, more Sub-Theory of a Sub-Theory or Version 2 of This Weird Thing. This may not be obviou…

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