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Why the Fuck?

raganwald.posterous.com

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Re: Why the Fuck?

#21

Post by bhickey »

Because research pays terribly and not everyone has the luxury of martyrdom.

Want to be a grad student? 80-90% pay cut. (Unless you go to Switzerland and then it's closer to 70%).

Want to be a university research programmer? 70% pay cut.

Removing economic considerations, would I rather be researching auto-immune disease? Sure. But 'doing good' means compromises like buying a house at 45 instead of 35.

No one asks doctors to make these compromises.

Edit: If someone wants to deposit $2m in my bank account I'll quit my job on Tuesday and go to grad school.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#22

Post by Posibyte »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #11

I don't have a degree in medical sciences so I have no idea where I would start.

And I think this is the biggest issue. Where do I find the information? Who's going to pay me for it? What incentive do I have to toil over something that might be needed and useful on one level, but stark in contrast to other opportunities that derive much greater incentive.

To become competent, I might be wasting my time in the end. If I have a marketable skill now with no additional work, then I don't have much a reason to invest into something else.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#25

Post by oh_sigh »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #11

I don't have a degree in medical sciences so I have no idea where I would start.

Because it's easier to be negative than positive. Complaining about something is a heck of a lot easier than doing anything about it.

Reg should use crowdfunding to develop this device, or something along those lines, if he really cares about this problem.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#27

Post by categorykni »

I'm not toiling to work out how to get someone to click on ads. I'm toiling to feed, house and educate my children. The pay cheque from Google enables me to do those things in the best way.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#28

Post by shazow »

Why do we play videogames? Why do we create art? Why do we eat tasty unhealthy foods? Why do we go on hikes or climb rocks?

Why do we write posts complaining about other people not saving the world?

We do things we enjoy, things we're passionate or curious about, things we care about or have no choice but to do them. Glamour is a factor. Money too.

Perhaps if I had diabetes, or someone very close to me was suffering from the disease, then I would spend some time thinking about how to more efficiently manage one's blood sugar levels. Perhaps if I were closer to the realities of obesity, then I Move You (my former startup focused around getting healthy through social pressure) would have worked out differently. I learned that this isn't something I'm passionate about, but I know there are others who are.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#29

Post by tunesmith »

I don't get the sense that there's an obvious, simple solution here that is just waiting to be implemented. I don't think it's that the only reason it doesn't exist is just because programmers are choosing to work elsewhere. Basically I think this question is probably built on faulty assumptions.

Re: Why the Fuck?

#30

Post by majormajor »

MatthewPhillips wrote: post #9

Who says programmers are the greatest minds of our generation?

This is a huge part of it. There's a certain arrogance in this tired, oft-repeated claim. And more subtly, people can be great at different things. Tech stuff has always come quite easily to me. Chemistry, biology, or creating social change? Not so much.

But my focusing on the stuff I'm good at hasn't stopped other people from doing (what my doctor friends decribe to me as) extremely interesting research in the health area.

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