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FAQ - New Science

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[T]he results of this policy are largely hidden, since they can be measured only by what does not happen. No one keeps track of whether research programs denied funding by NSF or NIH are less productive of discoveries or inventions than those that are funded. No one analyzes the efficiency of the system. We assume it works because many people publish many papers and some people manage to make some discoveries. We were once talking to a postdoc in biology and asked him what he thinks about the common view in Silicon Valley that academia is completely broken. He told us that of course this is what Silicon Valley people would think and that this is totally wrong. Yes, he said, academia has its share of problems, but it does give many brilliant people the opportunity to do incredible research and there are ways to work around many of the apparent constraints of academia if you try hard enough. On the whole, he said, academia is mostly working. In the process of telling us all of this, it t

FAQ - New Science FAQ What’s wrong with academia as it exists today? [T]he results of this policy are largely hidden, since they can be measured only by what does not happen. No one keeps track of whether research programs denied funding by NSF or NIH are less productive of discoveries or inventions than those that are funded. No one analyzes the efficiency of the system. We assume it works because many people publish many papers and some people manage to make some discoveries. Robert Root-Bernstein via Jose Luis Ricon We were once talking to a postdoc in biology and asked him what he thinks a

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