NY Times Magazine

[Aztec Princess]

bmartin at utmem.edu wrote:
> 
> In article <393ACD56.920FD153 at hotmail.com>, notmyaddress at hotmail.com
> (SLF) wrote:
> 
> > talent, like these kids, there won't be  many discoveries from
> > curiosity-driven research  that cross over in years to come to
> > support the next generation of  high-tech and the next new economy.
> 
> I believe there is a sense that curiousity-driven research is not
> respected as it used to be.  If the research is not more targeted at a
> problem, such as a particular disease, then it is not worth doing.
> This message is viewed as coming from funding agencies, school
> administrators, and other significant influences.

I have to say that this is one reason I left science. The science I was
doing was fun and totally curiousity-driven. But I felt like I wasn't
really doing anything except fulfilling my own needs and perhaps the
Navy (I worked on fish locomotion). There were a ton of reasons I left,
but what I found out was that I really wanted to work with people on
science issues. How do we get students to feel that this
curiousity-driven science can be a part of a fulfilling career? I saw
the T&P process degrade many professor's efforts at reaching out to
students...that's not what I wanted my career to end up like. So I got
out.

Roni