5 ms·
Established scientists stop producing groundbreaking results because of tenure. Once you have tenure, the biggest incentive to work hard goes away; it's simple
by rrrrtttt 13y ago
Established scientists stop producing groundbreaking results because of tenure. Once you have tenure, the biggest incentive to work hard goes away; it's simple economics. (Hence "mathematics is a young man's game".)
- adiM 13y agoFor most people in academia, the incentive to work hard is not the fear to get fired, but the intrinsic satisfaction of working on a certain class of problems. Tenure does not take that intrinsic value away.
- pmiller2 13y agoI take it you've never heard the term "6 year job interview"? :)
- thedufer 13y agoPretty sure that applies to the bullshit you have to do that isn't research. I'd be surprised to find a math professor who isn't there because he/she enjoys studying math - there just aren't any other good reasons to do it.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- XorNot 13y agoYou might want to look into what "groundbreaking" entails because excited news articles lead nowhere all the damn time. Tenure exists to escape people from the "3 papers a year" BS which means you get a neverending stream of minor refinements and very little thorough investigation.