Once upon a time, a doctor of philosophy in science/engineering meant that you were not only a scientist/engineer but also a philosopher. Meehl’s quote about physicist is kind of funny. I highly doubt any physics PhD nowadays represents the same mold of physicists/engineers that were akin to history like Shannon, Von Neumann, Planck, Schrodinger, (and even Einstein!). Not because they aren’t brilliant, but because science is just way more specialized than it was back then. I can’t tell you the reason why, but maybe it has to do with something regarding the infrastructure for science we have laid out today.
Because I'm an anarchist, I don't think it's about specialization. I think it's because of institutionalized bureaucracy (in publication, funding, hiring, etc.) that puts too much emphasis on rules and strangles any opportunity for play.
Once upon a time, a doctor of philosophy in science/engineering meant that you were not only a scientist/engineer but also a philosopher. Meehl’s quote about physicist is kind of funny. I highly doubt any physics PhD nowadays represents the same mold of physicists/engineers that were akin to history like Shannon, Von Neumann, Planck, Schrodinger, (and even Einstein!). Not because they aren’t brilliant, but because science is just way more specialized than it was back then. I can’t tell you the reason why, but maybe it has to do with something regarding the infrastructure for science we have laid out today.
Because I'm an anarchist, I don't think it's about specialization. I think it's because of institutionalized bureaucracy (in publication, funding, hiring, etc.) that puts too much emphasis on rules and strangles any opportunity for play.
One could also, following Graeber, view this along the lines of poetic vs. bureaucratic modes of production.
I definitely strapped on my Graeber Hat when writing this post.
There’s no time for philosophy anymore, there are conference deadlines to chase.
Beautiful post Ben, thanks for sharing!
Great stuff. I need to re listen to the lectures. Although I'm not a scientist of any kind, strongly agree with your publication ideas