Research is a human endeavor and as all human endeavors it can be improved. But having personally known NSF funded researchers in the past, I can confidently say these are some of the most dedicated, hard-working people you will ever meet. Most of these people work 60-70 hrs a week for half the salary they could get in industry.
Also, industry is far from perfect too. Think of high-profile failures like the Apple car or Meta’s Metaverse, both of which wasted literally tens of billions of dollars, many times the entire annual NSF budget. Let’s not hold scientists to standards applied no where else.
Also, industry is far from perfect too. Think of high-profile failures like the Apple car or Meta’s Metaverse, both of which wasted literally tens of billions of dollars, many times the entire annual NSF budget. Let’s not hold scientists to standards applied no where else.