tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post8557763300222250700..comments2024-01-13T18:57:18.243-05:00Comments on Information Processing: Crisis in American ScienceSteve Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-64749119702354905332008-01-14T06:55:00.000-05:002008-01-14T06:55:00.000-05:00American economy in crises - a long time comingWhe...American economy in crises - a long time coming<BR/><BR/>When a country and its society import more than they export for over a quarter of a century, it is bound to erod the economy to its primate state.<BR/><BR/>We have only ourselves to blame, what goods and products are we exporting, what goods and services are we exporting, the answer is very little.<BR/><BR/>In the past 50 years as our Yehuda Draimanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02201979198454300166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-6267088626245973362008-01-14T06:54:00.000-05:002008-01-14T06:54:00.000-05:00American economy in crises - a long time comingAmerican economy in crises - a long time comingYehuda Draimanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02201979198454300166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-49585863494261422732007-10-03T06:07:00.000-04:002007-10-03T06:07:00.000-04:00I tend to agree with sts in that limiting the numb...I tend to agree with sts in that limiting the number of PhD students is not a great idea. <BR/><BR/>My own experience in graduate school was that students arrived for a variety of reasons (ranging from very serious academic aspirations to not knowing what else to do). People left the standard academic track at various stages, many having learned that academic science is not what they want to doAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-35257899214402760502007-09-24T16:32:00.000-04:002007-09-24T16:32:00.000-04:00"too many grad students admitted" ...I disagree. ..."too many grad students admitted" ...<BR/><BR/>I disagree. This seems to tacitly assume that the selection process is infallible. What if the N+1st candidate is on a track to become a highly productive academician while the N-5th candidate will quite cheerfully chuck academics for Wall Street (or a buddhist monastery, or something else altogether)? <BR/><BR/>Why not let grad students enjoy someSethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16486234948199900568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-74064352173962999452007-09-20T12:45:00.000-04:002007-09-20T12:45:00.000-04:00MMm, the problem is too many graduate students acc...MMm, the problem is <I>too many graduate students</I> accepted into grad programs. If there aren't that many jobs and not that much funding, departments need to stop accepting so many grad students. But they don't because they need the cheap labor to grade papers, teach labs, etc. Heaven forbid they hire benefit-eligible lecturers and people focused on teaching instead of admitting so many Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-21751427077209321342007-09-19T21:52:00.000-04:002007-09-19T21:52:00.000-04:00That's a reasonable perspective. Do you think sti...That's a reasonable perspective. Do you think stipends and faculty salaries have actually been undermined, though, or do you more think that the faculty jobs have been undermined? I haven't seen any data that stipends have dropped versus inflation over the last 10-30 years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-58151026582230517402007-09-19T11:27:00.000-04:002007-09-19T11:27:00.000-04:00Paraphrasing what I wrote before:the problem is th...Paraphrasing what I wrote before:<BR/><BR/>the problem is that the need for graduate students/postdocs greatly exceeds the need for PhDs. This is because graduate students/postdocs are the Mexicans (no offence to Mexicans) of science. The model in American science for the past 10-20 years has been to import cheap workforce to undermine stipends and in the great scheme of things, faculty salaries Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-4107053695577508052007-09-19T02:23:00.000-04:002007-09-19T02:23:00.000-04:00Anonymous: "Scientist do not want such a thing. Th...Anonymous: "Scientist do not want such a thing. They want sustainability."<BR/><BR/>They have sustainability with the current system. But calling it a "crisis" sounds to me like they want something more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-57666784118643405002007-09-18T17:41:00.000-04:002007-09-18T17:41:00.000-04:00What do you think should be the "optimal" number o...What do you think should be the "optimal" number of PhDs coming out of physics labs per year, if they have to get absorbed in tenure track jobs/research labs etc?<BR/><BR/>If its low, is it worth having research programs that are not top- tier (most cutting edge work comes out the top 10 programs usually)?<BR/><BR/>Maybe the solution is to simply reduce the number of research universities and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-24387677413318661942007-09-18T14:50:00.000-04:002007-09-18T14:50:00.000-04:00Anonymous said... Scientists want exponential grow...Anonymous said... Scientists want exponential growth, and it just isn't possible (at the desired rate).<BR/><BR/>Scientist do not want such a thing. They want sustainability. <BR/>Anonymous said... Let the graduate students and postdocs do their research and then drop out. What's important is that the research is being done, and at low cost.<BR/><BR/>That’s the way the system works right now. TheAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-27112621915186130212007-09-18T14:39:00.000-04:002007-09-18T14:39:00.000-04:00How can basic physics research have so little expe...How can basic physics research have so little expectation of ultimate cash value that professors can't get paid?<BR/><BR/>Weren't, e.g., transistors an outgrowth of pure research?<BR/><BR/>Is this a product of market stupidity or insight?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02799291802979689902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-2859528038534542582007-09-18T10:14:00.000-04:002007-09-18T10:14:00.000-04:00I'm not sure what to read from the graph; for a ve...I'm not sure what to read from the graph; for a very long time it's been assumed that in physics one needs a postdoc to get a faculty job. So that graph just reflects the *desires* of the the graduating student to stay "in the loop" or leave for a permanent position, which is in industry or a national lab. <BR/><BR/>I agree that things suck, but how is that graph relevant?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-11659186036140161352007-09-17T22:38:00.000-04:002007-09-17T22:38:00.000-04:00That WSJ picture is an awful concept. :)Rather dep...That WSJ picture is an awful concept. :)<BR/><BR/>Rather depressing facts, too. <BR/><BR/>jak: "Isn't the real problem a lack of funding and scientific initiative from the government?" <BR/><BR/>I don't think so. Scientists want exponential growth, and it just isn't possible (at the desired rate). If all the students got permanent jobs and all their students got permanent jobs, etc., in fiftyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-71467415054626364992007-09-17T17:48:00.000-04:002007-09-17T17:48:00.000-04:00I don't get it. The conclusion of the article seem...I don't get it. The conclusion of the article seems to be that science departments need to "take better care" of their graduate students by training them more broadly. Isn't the real problem a lack of funding and scientific initiative from the government? It may be a bit idealistic to expect the government to swoop in and solve the problem by throwing money at it. But should we expect a physics Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com