Abuse of power at Germany's elite research institution [video]

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Mar 16, 2025, 11:37 PM UTC

tg180 wrote: post #5

throw627357 wrote: post #3

I personally know all about it, having spent many years in that system. Warning, long comment. Skip forward to the paragraph starting in "Where it becomes specific to Max Planck" if you already understand the psychological roots of toxic work environments in academia. Some of this is due to the psychology of the scientific mentor-mentee relationship, which has toxic elements nearly everywhere. Essentially, you have y…

This isn’t just a problem specific to German academia, it extends across the entire European academic landscape. I've always wondered why professors and supervisors, after experiencing these abuses themselves, continue to perpetuate them. The only explanation I've come up with is that the system naturally weeds out those who resist or speak up by stalling their careers. As a result, it selects for individuals who don…

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Mar 17, 2025, 2:45 AM UTC

disattention wrote: post #10

tg180 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn’t just a problem specific to German academia, it extends across the entire European academic landscape. I've always wondered why professors and supervisors, after experiencing these abuses themselves, continue to perpetuate them. The only explanation I've come up with is that the system naturally weeds out those who resist or speak up by stalling their careers. As a result, it selects for individuals who don…

This exists in the US as well. I've personally experienced and witnessed it happen within labs at an R1 University. The accountability structures are woefully insufficient to protect students and junior researchers, and the incentives are perverse as to actually reinforce the practice. I've seen frequently that talented technical contributors are academically handicapped because they bring too much value to the lab f…

Post by illiac786 » Mon, Mar 17, 2025, 9:19 PM UTC

tg180 wrote: post #5

throw627357 wrote: post #3

I personally know all about it, having spent many years in that system. Warning, long comment. Skip forward to the paragraph starting in "Where it becomes specific to Max Planck" if you already understand the psychological roots of toxic work environments in academia. Some of this is due to the psychology of the scientific mentor-mentee relationship, which has toxic elements nearly everywhere. Essentially, you have y…

This isn’t just a problem specific to German academia, it extends across the entire European academic landscape. I've always wondered why professors and supervisors, after experiencing these abuses themselves, continue to perpetuate them. The only explanation I've come up with is that the system naturally weeds out those who resist or speak up by stalling their careers. As a result, it selects for individuals who don…