nostr:npub1ecj3mfr9lzvx7wh6fmh59vz6eet324mdtdlp9qxzqvwuvpglwnxqv6fchy nostr:npub1fsq0e7kgsgphs9zq9v82yrle7rs4xd28lurtmry4uu4psrmv4q2q5us56e

I once went to my advisor and said, "I feel like there's so much to learn, and I want to learn it, but I worry that it'll take me way too long before I start doing original research."

My advisor said, "Don't worry about taking time to learn. Once you become a postdoc, you'll never have time to learn again, so you should learn as much as possible while you can."

That response shocked me. On other occasions, I've heard professors with prestigious positions and named chairs complain that, due to their stature, they have lots of responsibilities and barely any time for their own research, let alone learning anything new.

I always wondered why someone would seek a higher position of authority if it takes away your time and ability to do the very thing which set you on this path in the first place. The answer, it seems, is that the system expects you to keep progressing, so you do.

I don't think this entirely explains your phenomenon, but maybe it's a part of it. Academia is so competitive and demanding that people are forced to choose between hubris and irrelevance.