Hacker News with Generative AI: Academia

Among top researchers 10% publish at unrealistic levels, analysis finds (chemistryworld.com)
About 10% of the most influential researchers worldwide in various scientific fields, including chemistry, are achieving ‘implausibly high’ publication and new co-author rates.
Science, Research, Publishing, Academia, Chemistry
188 points by crescit_eundo 3 days ago | 112 comments
My Time at MIT (blogspot.com)
Twenty years ago, in 2004-2005, I spent a year at MIT’s Computer Science department as a postdoc working with Professor Nancy Lynch.
MIT, Computer Science, Academia, Personal Experiences
181 points by rrampage 4 days ago | 78 comments
Is the ArXiv safe from the current US Government attacks? (mathstodon.xyz)
Science, Academia, Government, Security
127 points by ColinWright 6 days ago | 101 comments
Show HN: Tools for Math Research (sugaku.net)
A platform for mathematics researchers to explore literature, find collaborators, and engage with mathematical content through advanced computational tools.
Mathematics, Research Tools, Collaboration, Academia
10 points by rfurmani 7 days ago | 6 comments
"Homotopical macrocosms for higher category theory" identified as woke DEI grant (mathstodon.xyz)
Mathematics, Category Theory, Academia, Social Justice
108 points by nabla9 7 days ago | 146 comments
Ask HN: Physics PhD at Stanford or Berkeley (ycombinator.com)
What should one consider while signing up for a Physics PhD program, with an focus on experimental Quantum/Molecular optics, program at either university if both of them offer?
Academia, Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Graduate School
76 points by Bang2Bay 11 days ago | 84 comments
Competition and survival in modern academia: A bibliometric case study (arxiv.org)
We study the career lengths of researchers in theoretical high-energy physics from 1950 to 2020. Using a cohort-based analysis and bibliometric data from 30,149 authors in three physics disciplines we observe a dramatic increase in the ratio of academic dropouts over time.
Academia, Physics, Research, Science, Data Analysis
14 points by jakobschwich 14 days ago | 3 comments
Ask HN: PhDs/students, how do you come up with viable problems/solutions? (ycombinator.com)
While I do have the support of advisor, and in general know the bigger research direction, coming up with a relevant doable+innovative research problem is still somewhat upon me and hard. I wanted to read on other researchers' perspective on how they do it, what works and what doesn't. Thanks!
Academia, Research, PhD, Students, Problem Solving
28 points by wayoverthecloud 19 days ago | 19 comments
Science is political and always has been (2024) (jrhawley.ca)
There is a common attitude in academia, with scientists, and in science-adjacent areas that science is not political.
Science, Politics, Academia
17 points by vmbrasseur 19 days ago | 8 comments
Study on the Prohibition of the Purple Costumes in Ancient China (2013) [pdf] (semanticscholar.org)
Ancient China, History, Costume, Academia, Research
19 points by prismatic 21 days ago | 3 comments
PhD terminated after 6 years with excellent work: retaliation from Prof, TUDelft [video] (youtube.com)
Academia, Retaliation, PhD, Video
8 points by martiancookbook 22 days ago | 1 comments
Most Influential Papers in Computer Science History (terriblesoftware.org)
Before we begin, let me be clear: yes, this is a subjective list. It’s not meant to end the debate — but to start it. These seven papers (sorted by date) stand out to me mostly because of their impact in today’s world. Honestly, each one deserves a blog post (or even a book!) of its own — but let’s keep it short for now.
Computer Science, History, Research, Academia, Influential Papers
335 points by jonbaer 30 days ago | 112 comments
More than 40% of postdocs leave academia, study reveals (nature.com)
More than 40% of postdoctoral researchers leave academia, according to a study of some 45,500 researchers’ careers1.
Academia, Research, Postdoctoral Researchers, Career Paths, Statistics
212 points by ipster_io 31 days ago | 241 comments
Book and Dagger: How scholars and librarians became spies during World War II (newrepublic.com)
About a year after I completed my Ph.D. in modern literature, during which time I’d had no luck landing employment, I approached a well-known literary scholar for his counsel. “Greg,” he said conspiratorially, “have you ever thought about working for the company?” “Dr. ___, I don’t really want to go into private industry.” “No, Greg; I mean the company. I can get you in.” Gobsmacked, I thought to myself, This guy doesn’t know his audience. Neither our politics nor my skills.
History, Academia, Espionage, Literature
61 points by samclemens 35 days ago | 50 comments
Retractions caused by honest mistakes are extremely stressful, say researchers (nature.com)
Most researchers whose papers are retracted owing to an honest mistake find the ordeal stressful, according to a survey of almost 100 authors1.
Science, Research, Academia, Stress, Retractions
6 points by bookofjoe 36 days ago | 0 comments
The Illustrated Guide to a PhD (might.net)
Every fall, I explain to a fresh batch of Ph.D. students what a Ph.D. is.
Academia, Education, Ph.D.
410 points by chii 40 days ago | 246 comments
A Return to Polymathy (2015) [pdf] (paulrcohen.github.io)
Polymathy, Philosophy, Academia, History
144 points by mirawelner 48 days ago | 73 comments
Two Turntables and a Microphone (2006) (goodfuzzysounds.com)
The shorter, funnier version of my dissertation
Music, Humor, Academia
63 points by mellosouls 49 days ago | 44 comments
Evolution journal editors resign en masse (arstechnica.com)
Over the holiday weekend, all but one member of the editorial board of Elsevier's Journal of Human Evolution (JHE) resigned "with heartfelt sadness and great regret," according to Retraction Watch, which helpfully provided an online PDF of the editors' full statement.
Science, Academia, Publishing, Resignations
4 points by signa11 52 days ago | 0 comments
Intolerable Genius: Berkeley's Most Controversial Nobel Laureate (2019) (alumni.berkeley.edu)
IN THE SUMMER OF 1984 the senior scientists of Cetus Corp., a Berkeley biotech company, found themselves in a bind. One of their employees, a promising young scientist named Kary Mullis, had dreamed up a technique to exponentially replicate tiny scraps of DNA. He called it polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and if it worked it would change the world and likely earn Cetus a mountain of money. The only problem was Mullis was an interpersonal wrecking ball.
Science, Biography, Controversy, Academia
22 points by oli5679 54 days ago | 24 comments
Evolution journal editors resign en masse to protest Elsevier changes (retractionwatch.com)
All but one member of the editorial board of the Journal of Human Evolution (JHE), an Elsevier title, have resigned, saying the “sustained actions of Elsevier are fundamentally incompatible with the ethos of the journal and preclude maintaining the quality and integrity fundamental to JHE’s success.” 
Science, Publishing, Academia, Open Access
106 points by panic 56 days ago | 31 comments
From Papyrus to Preprints (joinreboot.org)
Nearly every paper I come across is a preprint. We take it for granted now, but 33 years ago, arXiv—as we know it—emerged from the halls of Los Alamos National Laboratory, revolutionizing how we share research. I thought an exposé was long overdue, so here’s an attempt.
Science, Preprints, History, Academia, Research
6 points by folump 58 days ago | 0 comments
On the nature of computing science (1984) (cs.utexas.edu)
Now this summer school draws to a close, it seems appropriate to try to put its topic into some perspective
Computing Science, Academia, History
280 points by ColinWright 60 days ago | 110 comments
When I was lonely, I used to hate weekends (bubblic.app)
During the loneliest phase of my PhD, I used to dread the weekends.
Loneliness, Academia, Personal Experiences
5 points by jaybhum 62 days ago | 1 comments
Pseudonymity in Academic Publishing (11011110.github.io)
The January issue of the Notices of the AMS is out, and it includes a new article coauthored by me, as well as what look like interesting articles on machine-assisted proof by Terry Tao and on rational approximation by Lloyd Trefethen fils (better known as Nick). My article is about editing mathematics on Wikipedia, with the pretentious or maybe just silly name Princ-wiki-a Mathematica: Wikipedia Editing and Mathematics; it’s by Joel B. Lewis, Russ Woodroofe, XOR’easter, and myself.
Mathematics, Academia, Pseudonymity
41 points by 082349872349872 63 days ago | 12 comments
My Pal, the Ancient Philosopher (nautil.us)
To do philosophy, you don’t need expensive labs or equipment. You don’t need a huge team. You can do it all by yourself. The downside is that philosophers are often lonely. Reading in solitude while wrestling with your own thoughts is difficult. We do discuss and debate our ideas with others at conferences and symposia, but these peers, invaluable as they are, are bounded by many of the same constraints we are, living and thinking in our own brief historical moment.
Philosophy, Solitude, Academia
38 points by HR01 65 days ago | 8 comments
Noam Chomsky at 96 (theconversation.com)
Noam Chomsky, one of the world’s most famous and respected intellectuals, will be 96 years old on Dec. 7, 2024. For more than half a century, multitudes of people have read his works in a variety of languages, and many people have relied on his commentaries and interviews for insights about intellectual debates and current events.
Noam Chomsky, Intellectuals, Linguistics, Politics, Academia
3 points by lr0 66 days ago | 0 comments
Elon Musk is causing problems for the Royal Society (theguardian.com)
A leading scientist at the University of Oxford has resigned from the UK’s national academy of sciences over concerns about Elon Musk’s continuing fellowship.
Science, Academia, Elon Musk, Royal Society
13 points by jzox 66 days ago | 10 comments
My PhD advisor rewrote himself in bash (might.net)
The hardest part of advising Ph.D. students is teaching them how to write.
Programming Languages, Academia, Humor
43 points by signa11 70 days ago | 4 comments
My PhD advisor rewrote himself in bash (2010) (might.net)
The hardest part of advising Ph.D. students is teaching them how to write.
PhD, Programming, Bash, Academia, Humor
257 points by vismit2000 70 days ago | 104 comments