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Academia as an ‘anxiety machine’

lemire.me

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Re: Academia as an ‘anxiety machine’

#51

Post by mercer »

angersock wrote: post #50
munin wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there's a big difference between "if I clock out an hour early, I can read some wikipedia pages before I commute home" and "take the next three weeks and read these 20 papers"

Stop strawmanning. It's entirely possible to leave a paper up in a tab, read it over lunch or just when taking a break from your work, and continue. This isn't rocket science--nobody is >80% all day erry day in their time usage, regardless of what they claim.

I don't think it's a strawman. A lot of academic work is much like creative work. You can't quite plan it in an hour over lunch. I've gone from academia to a very 'free' corporate environment, and in that context I found it hard to do the 'academic' things. To me, it feels much like creative work, where I might need a few days of nothing (leaving whatever it is I'm doing in the back of my head) before i can produce anything. It's really difficult to cram that into an hour here or there, or an evening after spending an entire day at work.

Re: Academia as an ‘anxiety machine’

#52

Post by mercer »

chatmasta wrote: post #15
angersock wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to pick on your girlfriend but I've seen a variant of this phrase so often that I'm kind of baffled: "the lack of clear policies and regulations governing academia is one of its greatest advantages, because it gives your mind space to explore, and expands creative freedom." Are the folks in academia so creatively stunted that they can't find freedom outside of the ivory tower? It seems like such a silly argument.

Surely there are opportunities outside of academia that do not restrict you to the 9-5 grind or subject you solely to the whims of "the man." But academia is one of the only options where that kind of freedom comes safely packaged and institutionalized. You get the advantages of prestige without the risk of something like entrepreneurship, which may be another option for finding creative freedom.

I left academia because of the politics involved, and opted for a freelancer existence instead. It works very well for me, as I have plenty of time to pursue 'academic' interests. But I do realized I'm very privileged as a developer, where I don't have to spend much time looking for clients and worrying about money.

But for those who yearn for freedom, are capable of building websites or web apps, freelancing might be the path you're looking for (at least, for now).

Re: Academia as an ‘anxiety machine’

#53

Post by eli_gottlieb »

Balgair wrote: post #49
eli_gottlieb wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If there was 2 things I wish the whole world could know, truly know deep down, they would be that you personally are worth all the stars in the heavens, all the grain in the fields, all the water in the oceans, and that everyone else is worth exactly the same amount; that we are all priceless. Which, unfortunately, only tells us that we perhaps ought to trade off human lives against nonhuman lives or nonlives, since…

thanks (?)

That's me agreeing with you, but wishing we could do more about it.

Re: Academia as an ‘anxiety machine’

#54

Post by angersock »

mercer wrote: post #51
angersock wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stop strawmanning. It's entirely possible to leave a paper up in a tab, read it over lunch or just when taking a break from your work, and continue. This isn't rocket science--nobody is >80% all day erry day in their time usage, regardless of what they claim.

I don't think it's a strawman. A lot of academic work is much like creative work. You can't quite plan it in an hour over lunch. I've gone from academia to a very 'free' corporate environment, and in that context I found it hard to do the 'academic' things. To me, it feels much like creative work, where I might need a few days of nothing (leaving whatever it is I'm doing in the back of my head) before i can produce a…

So, I think there is kind of a core disagreement here: either you believe that you can do creative work with your idle cycles, or you believe that you require large blocks of unfettered time to do it.

I suggest that both are true, though one or the other may be a bit more efficient for a given situation.

What I dislike is this semi-unspoken assertion by academics that, unless you have the long hours of "freedom" provided only within the ivory tower, people in industry cannot be creative or do useful research. It's insulting to everyone who has made continual progress for mankind while working normal jobs.

Re: Academia as an ‘anxiety machine’

#55

Post by mathattack »

saraid216 wrote: post #43
mathattack wrote: post #23

"One of the reasons academic infighting is so vicious is that the stakes are so small" - Kissinger

He's not wrong, but he's not right either. The stakes aren't so much small as they're impossible to wrap your head around. They tend to be something like, "understanding something we don't even know exists yet". Compared to something like global politics, where a stake is often at least quantifiable ("1 country", "500 million children", etc.), it does help explain the viciousness: it's not clear what's lost when ther…

I've seen academics fight harder for a new filing cabinet than bankers for a 500K bonus.
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