Creative and intellectual poverty

On the scarcity mindset in academia

Academia suffers from cognitive and intellectual poverty due to a persistent (time) scarcity mindset (imposed by poor incentives). It is well documented that financially poor people suffer from a scarcity mindset, which erodes core cognitive functions. This scarcity mindsets clouds decisions, prioritizing small short-term gains over long-term larger profits by affecting planning ability.

A recent studies highlighted the decline in disruptive science (Kozlov, Nature 2023) and record number of paper retractions (Van Noorden, Nature 2023). I would argue that this, in part, is driven by a scarcity mindset leading to creative and intellectual poverty.

Scientists have, over time, been forced from a position of relative creative freedom into one which often focuses on chasing (more) funding. Although the true role of scientists is creative discovery and to train a new generation of scientists, this role has taken a back seat. The scarcity mindset in chasing funding has polluted and crowded out creativity and mentorship for all but the lucky few, who have some financial stability or idealistic willingness.

By consequence, mentoring has little priority outside the performative duties, happily offloaded to adjunct “teaching” professors or post-docs where possible. Phds and post-docs are left to fend for themselves in many cases, being left with little or no true guidance. In this context, students, Phds and post-docs are increasingly seen as cheap labour, not an opportunity to teach the next generation of scientists.

Ultimately, this scarcity mindset not only affects students, Phds and post-docs poorly (as extensively documented) it is also is detrimental to science in general. As Kozlov has shown, disruptive science has decreased, while year-over-year the working conditions of Phds and post-docs are described as barely scraping by. More so, it is an incentive to let things slide, and opening the door to poor research if not outright fraud to get ahead.

The net societal gain of the academic scarcity mindset is therefore slim. The personal cost, for the next generation of scientists, lacking mentorship, all the more dire. As with true poverty, a scarcity mindset is generational, where people who get out of poverty will suffer from this mindset for many years after, perpetuate all its ills and slow down the needed personal changes.

Escaping the scarcity trap

Acknowledge mentorship

Mentorship is theoretically central to the task of academic faculty. Acknowledge this role, and avoid window dressing with numbers. Show up and stand up for students, and move the discussion from results to the process on how to work and manage efficiently, and larger / long term goals which do not necessarily include components which are academically commensurable.

Build with and for people, relentlessly

Funding and investing in mentorship are not mutually exclusive, but have a higher upfront cost (in time). However, building things with highly trained people is also more efficient. Consider the long term pay-off on investing in people, and working with them.

Manage down, then up.

Most professors manage up, i.e. they try to coerce favours/collaborations with their peers or administrators higher up. Although this is often required, the needs of a lab are larger than the personal project needs of a professor. Without managing down and acknowledging the foundation of a research group, i.e. taking stock and aligning values with anyone you work with, it will be hard to address the true needs of a lab. If people need to actively manage up to get what they need from a supervisor there is something amiss. Practice active listening and be pro-active. Tap into your experience to anticipate the (practical and other) needs of people, adjust in deliberation.

Understand lab culture(s)

Lab culture changes over time and with backgrounds, diversity, generations, technologies, overall societal cultural expectations and across institutions. Acknowledge this fact and try to understand these varying dynamics. Being stuck in your own generation will limit the ways in which you can communicate with those who you mentor. Try to bridge cultural divides actively.

Be generous, and invert implicit power dynamics

Even tenure track professors are in a position of power relative to those on fixed-term contracts (phds / post-docs). Acknowledge this privilege by actively lifting people up and creating opportunities for them and with them. Lobby on behalf of students even if this does not directly benefit you.

There is no such thing as being scooped

Acknowledge that you are part of a scientific dialogue in which certain ideas circulate. Most scientists are not singular geniuses, their work reflects the themes and topics of the societies in which they move. The notion of being scoped, and teaching students to worry about this, only perpetuates a scarcity mindset and intellectual anemia.