U.S. science is in chaos • Hacker News Board

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#331

Post by xp84 » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:26 PM UTC

_DeadFred_ wrote: post #275

handle584 wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well why Americans are not willing to take those PhD offers that pay barely above poverty line for 5 years or so? The answer is obvious, they would rather take a job in industry that pays miles better. There is really no reason to be resentful because it is a voluntary choice, and foreign students are worse off in every aspect to start with. Leaving friends & family behind, travel often involves long-haul flights, di…

I get all that. I grew up in Santa Cruz and wish I could go home but can't because of the cost. I can't imagine having to leave my entire country. I'm not trying to put down immigrants in those positions. I am inspired by immigrants. I am inspired by foreigners who come here. But none of that addresses that many Americans dream of being in those positions, and seeing foreigners who are doing it and are being funded b…

A good and balanced take, this. Too bad we don't even allow those on the political stage anymore :(

All we get is candidates who scream that the other side is stupid fascists or degenerates and that all their opinions are obviously stupid, since they came from obviously stupid irrational people.

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#332

Post by anigbrowl » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:26 PM UTC

stainablesteel wrote: post #225

btrettel wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a US citizen with a PhD, I didn't experience any clear discrimination in favor of foreign students during grad school. I think the main reason so few US citizens get PhDs is because PhD "student" (they're actually workers) positions pay so poorly. Make PhD student positions have non-poverty wages and you'll see a lot more interest from US citizens. On the flip side, I think foreign students experienced a lot of ab…

im referring to the admissions process, and this discrimination has been present for decades

Stop vagueposting and make a proper argument. This isn't X where you get paid for posting bait.

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#333

Post by helterskelter » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC

nikanj wrote: post #303

Rebuff5007 wrote: post #19

> whether there are black holes at a redshift of 10 or not is not a partisan issue. Anything that depends on a basic understanding of the scientific process, and resulting scientific facts is absolutely a partisan issue right now.

And the real partisan question is ”should the US fund studying the black holes”, not the actual science question

At this point I wouldn't be surprised if they thought it was a DEI thing.

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#334

Post by evilos » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:32 PM UTC

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #296

Schlagbohrer wrote: post #33

My friends from grad school who went on to become professors tell me that not only did their grant funding dry up, but they were unable to follow through on hiring many of the grad students they had planned to hire, since the students came from foreign countries and faced new visa restrictions. So the money for science is gone, the people to do to the science are gone, and the institutions continue to not support the…

Americans voted to bring the country back to the 1950's and the plan is working perfectly

The institutions and trust that generations of Americans carefully built has been gleefully torched by cruel incompetents in the space of a handful years. The damage, physical and social, is incalculable. The unpunished crimes, endless.

The reconstruction, if it happens at all, will take decades. It was all so unnecessary, so foolish.

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#335

Post by dyauspitr » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:33 PM UTC

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #296

Schlagbohrer wrote: post #33

My friends from grad school who went on to become professors tell me that not only did their grant funding dry up, but they were unable to follow through on hiring many of the grad students they had planned to hire, since the students came from foreign countries and faced new visa restrictions. So the money for science is gone, the people to do to the science are gone, and the institutions continue to not support the…

Americans voted to bring the country back to the 1950's and the plan is working perfectly

They don’t want the 1950s. We were pretty science forward then. The problem is they don’t really want to live in a world driven by facts because it eats into their privilege and they would rather have that.

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#336

Post by esarbe » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:34 PM UTC

drnick1 wrote: post #324

IsTom wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want to vent: climate change is not a controversial topic, it's an inconvenient topic for people making a lot of money.

> I just want to vent: climate change is not a controversial topic, it's an inconvenient topic for people making a lot of money. If you’d like to do your part against climate change, you can start by walking everywhere today, avoiding heating and cooling your home, and never flying a plane again. These are changes I’m not willing to make, so the issue isn’t just inconvenient for the wealthy—it’s inconvenient for ever…

That's a ludicrous proposal.

A whole planets' society's structural problems cannot be solved by an individuals action. Your own attitude explains the 'why'.

This is a systemic issue that needs systemic fixing.

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#337

Post by ArmadilloGang » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:34 PM UTC

lmf4lol wrote: post #319

dwa3592 wrote: post #307

My wife operates an optical trap (a sophisticated microscope, she uses it for studying gene/dna physical properties) and she's pretty good at working with that instrument. The number of people good at working that microscope are in the ballpark of 2000 (+- 1000) in the world! She has cried a lot in the last one year for the mess science research has become. We are moving out of the country at the end of August.

where to?

My family is looking at Missouri to Spain.

Why Spain: Expat communities, cost of living, friendly visa options, beautiful climate.

Why leave: Sick of U.S. politics and the way it directly and indirectly affects us and how difficult it is to escape from it - it’s a major point of conversations with family and friends, it’s on the local radio, local subreddit, local social media pages, etc.

Also, I have over $7k in personal medical costs annually (out of pocket). That’s just me, not my family cumulatively. For Ostomy supplies, iron infusions, and more.

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#338

Post by anigbrowl » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:35 PM UTC

drnick1 wrote: post #324

IsTom wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want to vent: climate change is not a controversial topic, it's an inconvenient topic for people making a lot of money.

> I just want to vent: climate change is not a controversial topic, it's an inconvenient topic for people making a lot of money. If you’d like to do your part against climate change, you can start by walking everywhere today, avoiding heating and cooling your home, and never flying a plane again. These are changes I’m not willing to make, so the issue isn’t just inconvenient for the wealthy—it’s inconvenient for ever…

Username checks out. I do live that sort of lifestyle and I think your agument is bogus. Different people engage in different amounts of carbon-producing consumerism, but it's notable that different developed countries have quite different carbon outputs, indicating that it's possible to achieve the goal of lowering the collective carbon footprint without immiserating the population.

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#339

Post by Tangurena2 » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:35 PM UTC

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #296

Schlagbohrer wrote: post #33

My friends from grad school who went on to become professors tell me that not only did their grant funding dry up, but they were unable to follow through on hiring many of the grad students they had planned to hire, since the students came from foreign countries and faced new visa restrictions. So the money for science is gone, the people to do to the science are gone, and the institutions continue to not support the…

Americans voted to bring the country back to the 1950's and the plan is working perfectly

Back to the 1930s.

People in the 1950s were convinced that the nuclear family was a disaster and the leading cause of divorce/poverty.

Re: U.S. science is in chaos

#340

Post by epistasis » Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 6:36 PM UTC

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #296

Schlagbohrer wrote: post #33

My friends from grad school who went on to become professors tell me that not only did their grant funding dry up, but they were unable to follow through on hiring many of the grad students they had planned to hire, since the students came from foreign countries and faced new visa restrictions. So the money for science is gone, the people to do to the science are gone, and the institutions continue to not support the…

Americans voted to bring the country back to the 1950's and the plan is working perfectly

In the 1950s the US had lots of foreign scientists.

In fact if the US hadn't had its huge influx of foreign scientists fleeing the Nazis, who knows where we'd even be today.