Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts • Hacker News Board

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#81

Post by ricardobeat » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 9:51 PM UTC

constantcrying wrote: post #24

x0x0 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not many people walk away from Harvard, MIT, Princeton, etc. If you had tenure there (a big if, since the article is unclear), or even were tenure track, that was viewed as one of the most prestigious and desirable jobs in the world. 25 people leaving is a sea change.

>25 people leaving is a sea change. 25 Academics leaving is not "sea change". >If you had tenure there (a big if, since the article is unclear), or even were tenure track, that was viewed as one of the most prestigious and desirable jobs in the world. Some very major ifs there.

For numbers, it's nearly 1% of all post-docs (~3400) in those three universities, leaving at once, to a single destination. You can do the math. It's a fact that the USA used to attract this talent, not export it.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#82

Post by constantcrying » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 9:52 PM UTC

araes wrote: post #68

constantcrying wrote: post #2

How is 25 American takings jobs in Austria newsworthy?

Because it gets a lot of response, there's a lot of traction, many with positive sentiment, support, and "take me with you" equivalents. Because its a sign significant numbers of people, institutions, disciplines, and demographics are thinking that way. In stock market terminology it would be a signal to investors. Thread on Reddit 1mo ago about biotechnologist Wali Malik leaving his lab in Boston developing mass tes…

>Because its a sign significant numbers of people, institutions, disciplines, and demographics are thinking that way. In stock market terminology it would be a signal to investors.

How is something incredibly common a signal for anything? Academics move to other countries all the time.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#83

Post by hollerith » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 9:53 PM UTC

Bhilai wrote: post #41

tptacek wrote: post #34

Even if they were full professors, 25 seems like a literal drop in the bucket. There are 187 R1 universities in the US. Competition for professorships is so intense that a lot of people look at grad school as a sucker's bet. I'm happy for these people and for Austria, but I don't see a real news story here.

drop by drop, thats how a bucket fills.

OK, but I want to read news stories about the state of the bucket, not about 25 of the drops.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#84

Post by jacquesm » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 10:10 PM UTC

locallost wrote: post #59

jacquesm wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My bet is China will be the big winner. Because China is so much more immigration and foreigner friendly?

I don't know, personally never went there. But it doesn't seem to be throwing out babies with the bath water, as currently the case in the US. What their immigration policies are in general I don't know, but they are a knowledge hungry worldpower, and we are talking about scientists here. And as for the EU, my concern remains, there are way too many Trump copycats, and it's difficult to trust it will not go down the…

> And as for the EU, my concern remains, there are way too many Trump copycats

Fully agreed on that one.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#85

Post by jacquesm » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 10:16 PM UTC

Herring wrote: post #67

jacquesm wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My bet is China will be the big winner. Because China is so much more immigration and foreigner friendly?

China can turn on a dime. And they smell blood. https://www.china-briefing.com/news/chinas-entry-exit-k-visa... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC8f1qs3TGs Give it 5-10 years and the situation could look very different. If they decide to pour tons of money into it, they could dominate like with trains or solar.

I would never invest time, money or my life into a country without a functioning legal system. In a country where the likes of Jack Ma are not safe nobody is safe.

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#86

Post by jacquesm » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 10:18 PM UTC

thisisit wrote: post #76

jacquesm wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My bet is China will be the big winner. Because China is so much more immigration and foreigner friendly?

You do realise Chinese form a large immigrant population in the US, right? And as much as I dislike saying this - Chinese government doesn’t want you talking about politics. Otherwise you should be mostly fine. While US government is going beyond politics. Pushing stuff like that autism and Tylenol connection on correlation study. That is going beyond politics and impacting academic and scientific analysis.

> You do realise Chinese form a large immigrant population in the US, right?

Did I say anything that made you think otherwise, right?

> And as much as I dislike saying this - Chinese government doesn’t want you talking about politics. Otherwise you should be mostly fine.

Ahhh too bad then, because one of the things that I really like about the societies that I'd bet my life/money/health/other resources on is that I want to be able to talk about politics. Otherwise, what's the point, all you are doing is lining some dictator's pocket.

> While US government is going beyond politics. Pushing stuff like that autism and Tylenol connection on correlation study. That is going beyond politics and impacting academic and scientific analysis.

Yes, the US is also on a bad path. But so is China. And they too push plenty of bullshit. How is that Tianmen Square investigation coming along?

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#87

Post by arduanika » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 10:19 PM UTC

jonny_eh wrote: post #13

throw_m239339 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Imagine if people made a Trump joke whenever New York City came up in conversation.

The throwaway's comment has been flagged. Who was he joking about? Mozart? Freud? Arnie?

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#88

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 10:21 PM UTC

constantcrying wrote: post #2

How is 25 American takings jobs in Austria newsworthy?

[deleted]

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#89

Post by arduanika » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 10:22 PM UTC

summarity wrote: post #36

threecheese wrote: post #31

I follow a few Australian folks on social media, and it was really surprising to see how much of an Asian/Chinese influence there is. Asian flavors, signage, brands, even slang. It’s a departure from American cultural hegemony that I (as an American) just did not expect. After wrongly thinking for my entire life that Aussies were basically American cowboys plus crocodiles, I now see news like this as just part of a f…

Mozart not Kangaroos

Waltzing Johann Strauss, not Matilda

Re: Austria hails 'brain gain' in luring 25 academics away from US after cuts

#90

Post by defrost » Thu, Sep 25, 2025, 10:23 PM UTC

arduanika wrote: post #87

jonny_eh wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine if people made a Trump joke whenever New York City came up in conversation.

The throwaway's comment has been flagged. Who was he joking about? Mozart? Freud? Arnie?

You can enable [Show Dead] in your profile preferences and see for yourself.

It was the usual no effort reference to a failed Austrian artist who later led Germany.