It’s obvious to many people that something has to replace research universities, or at least supplement them, because they don’t work well anymore. However, no one has more than a vague sense of what that might be.
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Replying to @Meaningness @reasonisfun and
I have been searching for exactly this, but yes- the main advice that I have gotten is that while academia sucks, it's sort of the only way because it's the only way to find communities of practice. Specifically got this from someone who did independent research b4 grad school
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Replying to @The_Lagrangian @reasonisfun and
Yup. Ideally you need a primary mentor (PhD advisor) and a community of near-peers, some a bit ahead of you (your advisor’s research team). If one or the other of those is dysfunctional, it can still work, just. Without either… it’s maybe not impossible, but extremely unusual.
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Replying to @Meaningness @The_Lagrangian and
I’ve made a habit of helping rescue brilliant Thiel fellow types, who oft lack such a community of practice in research, into the most open-minded bio PhD programs/advisors/labs who themselves like to “hack the system“ a bit. & I’m in one myself now as a newbie to AI in my 30’s.
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Replying to @AdamMarblestone @The_Lagrangian and
This is extremely interesting; the Fellows program was a fascinating experiment, but I was afraid it might have exactly this downside. I’d love to learn more about how it has gone for people.
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Replying to @Meaningness @The_Lagrangian and
It is frightening that truly enabling settings are so rare. A twist is to bring ppl up in traditional universities, but fund & network them in ways that partially insulate from some of the “coercive” aspects. That’s what Hertz Foundation’s “freedom to innovate” means, in part.
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Replying to @AdamMarblestone @The_Lagrangian and
Yes, the Hertz Foundation is a great thing; I had several friends in grad school who were supported by them. In their cases, the summer programs didn’t seem to do a whole lot for them, though. Maybe more significant in other fields, or the model has improved since ~1990
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Replying to @Meaningness @The_Lagrangian and
The latter, plus a broadening para-academic sphere they can enter when graduating, is starting to help, I think. But even with fellowships, the environments that can take the best ppl from ~0 through your “cargo cult” phase, and also do the truly new, are rare...
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Replying to @AdamMarblestone @The_Lagrangian and
Oh, this is really great to hear! I wonder how much of the program enhancement was explicitly designed and thought out, versus developing gradually through trial and error. And stuff like that? I suppose this is not described anywhere publicly?
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Replying to @Meaningness @The_Lagrangian and
I’m not sure it is really understood. But they grow up knowing each other now and collaborating at least somewhat more short term and maybe a lot more long term.
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So glad to hear this.
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Replying to @Meaningness @The_Lagrangian and
One Thiel fellow actually then got a Hz fellowship, but, lacking an undergrad degree, couldn’t enter most PhD programs. Fortunately, a non-traditional one took them. But that’s just one case.
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Replying to @AdamMarblestone @The_Lagrangian and
Back in the Good Old Days, you could get hired even as a professor without having a degree. That’s unimaginable now.
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