Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> One is that grad schools are really dysfunctional. If I, a person whose sole qualification is caring a lot, could help Eve speed up her dissertation by ~25%, then her philosophy department is leaving a lot of productivity on the table.

They are dysfunctional from the perspective of grad students. For the advisors (professors) their priorities are:

1. publish

2. get grants

Basically nothing else matters in terms of what they're evaluated on.

"My grad student finished 25% faster" does pretty much nothing for the advisor's career compared to "My team performed 25% better" for a manager's career.



Consider applying for YC's Fall 2026 batch! Applications are open till July 27.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: