This is my contribution to bring the "you" back into KZhead #uinutube You can support me on Patreon ➜ / sabine
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After finishing my PhD I went to a university-led session on ‘What Comes Next.’ What I heard sounded a lot like “now, you beg for money.” It was so depressing to think about all the very clever people in that room who had worked so very hard only to find out they had no financial security and would be spending most of their days asking for money. I realized that even what I thought of as the ‘safe path’ was uncertain so I may as well go after what I truly want. That led me here.
@veritasiumАй бұрын
This. This I had to see for myself - the money begging approach, the insecure job of 2 or 3 years and then beg for more. I was disheartened with this also. Having a family and the need to be secure, I took my PhD into industry rather than academia. Unfortunately, I didn’t get paid for that extra achievement and feel like I’ve never fully reached my potential. All because I couldn’t get the proper assurance behind the question of, ‘and then what?’. However, getting a PhD is enjoyable and certainly fulfilling. But be prepared to do something different afterwards.
@davidj4266Ай бұрын
Couldn’t agree more here. I feel somewhat fortunate to have shifted my perspective in pursuing my physics PhD program as a time to learn, have fun, and then move to industry. It’s rather disheartening watching hardworking people pursue the academic dream, while making all kind of sacrifices (both personal and those related to academic politics), just to aim for a position that may or may not work out.
@WhoCares-zn8gpАй бұрын
Find a job in applying your knowledge.
@jamskinnerАй бұрын
@fruz1378Ай бұрын
I just finished middle school and wanted to be a physicist, now I'm rethinking my dreams
@vishwanathhalkeri9839Ай бұрын
Your willingness to call 'bullshit' by its name is one of the reasons I watch your channel. Hats off, carry on!
@soggytablet4852Ай бұрын
Its a good way to make money.
@paintspot1509Ай бұрын
@@paintspot1509 it's an excellent way to be truthful..
@Elo-hv3fwАй бұрын
Agree. My PhD was made that much harder by the need to sift thru 100’s of bullshit papers (pointless, poor quality and written simply to fish for citations) that Sabine calling it, is very satisfying!
@Celeste-in-OzАй бұрын
This
@enemdisk6628Ай бұрын
@@enemdisk6628 BS is a name. Welcome to am. Engl
@Elo-hv3fwАй бұрын
No, Sabine, you have not failed, its the system that have failed you.
@Anonymous-rj2lk14 күн бұрын
Unfortunately it's still people that suffer, not the system.
@hendrikbruns358011 күн бұрын
My psycology therapist would say otherwise. Its not the worl that must change for you. I know, a partial minded view but most people would support that claim.
@AtrozGrima11 күн бұрын
@@AtrozGrima its the easiest to always blame yourself even though you met all the criteria required to not fail, but this claim fails the logic test, so there must be an outside factor that intervened and sabotaged you, and in Sabine's case it's the system. how come a post grad in physics cant find a job in research?? sounds ridiculous to say its her fault after she did everything the system demanded.
@Anonymous-rj2lk11 күн бұрын
Capitalism wasn't good as she thought
@MTheoOA10 күн бұрын
@@AtrozGrima Psychologists have no clue how society works, they are always focused on the individual, and dont bother with anything else. They arent smart people, they act smart but know almost nothing. It is bitter, sad, but true.
@morpheas76810 күн бұрын
I'm going to send this video when asked why I dropped my PhD. So real, I'm glad I did that sooner.
@Dahello904 күн бұрын
The real tragedy is that you almost didn't post this video. People NEED to know what kind of world we live in. This was more valuable than 99% of commencement speeches.
@TubeytimeАй бұрын
I gave up physics to become an electrician. ZERO REGRETS. 👍
@skippy6086Ай бұрын
This has always bothered me when I heard about people with masters degree doing work vastly different from what they worked so hard for and I was left wondering most of the time, how is this happening. This was very illuminating and I'm seething.
@mutantmagnetАй бұрын
@@skippy6086 I need an electrician frequently which is why I became one too. I have never needed a physicist and one reason I opted not to study it in college despite it being fascinating.
@estherstepansky5256Ай бұрын
No offense, but she did a video on why capitalism is awesome not long ago. Many of us have been saying this for years. This is not news to LOTS of people.
@MrCesarificationАй бұрын
agreed
@minoc2Ай бұрын
Hearing your story reminded me of that Franz Kafka quote: “I was ashamed of myself when I realized that life was a costume party, and I attended with my real face.” I am glad you stood your ground after all. We need more people like you, and not just in Academia.
@aerozgАй бұрын
Excellent quote.
@jessemalone8083Ай бұрын
At the Time of Franz Kafka There were yet no socialist Euroland countries promoting some bulshit agenda , but it was starting at that time. Global democracy is a scam.
@TymexComputingАй бұрын
Except that anyone with integrity leaves academia because it is a rotten swamp in which only shrewed and greedy people thrive... The higher up you get in the organization, the less integrity they have. Especially in the highly prestigious institutions. The corruption and self-interest is rife and little to no meaningful science is done anymore, so anyone with integrity leaves. Scientific discovery has almost completed stopped in regards to large discoveries because research there isn't profitable...
@Dennis-zk4bnАй бұрын
There's no good reason to wear a mask and lose your integrity. You can use your actual self, you just need to know your boundaries and have actual confidence.
@networknomad5600Ай бұрын
Any business or undertaking these days is a emotional marathon, and anyone who puts their real self on the starting line will lose the emotionally draining commitment. Kinda the whole reason emotionally dettached people are more successful and why it seems like no one cares in business meetings.
@thebearded4427Ай бұрын
Also a physics PhD. Fighting for funding and fighting against petty administrators pushed me out of experimental condensed matter physics. Now I'm a high school teacher. I applied to corporate jobs but when you are so specialized and the job market is up and down it is really difficult finding work anywhere in the world. I had trouble fitting into the machinery.
@yvonneglanville209415 күн бұрын
A place where I worked, 3 of the software developers had Physics PhDs. Only so many places for them in research really when you think about it.
@FallNorth11 күн бұрын
Somewhere theres a kid that is so glad you are his teacher. Somewhere theres a kid who recalls your teaching and recognizes your efforts. Somewhere theres a community that is glad you are part of it. Add infinitum.
@melchezi881810 күн бұрын
The education system is an indoctrination camp meant to turn all who attend into wage/salary slaves serving and making the big dollars for the powerful elite.
@JS-vh4yq7 күн бұрын
Were you also told getting your undergrad "oh you can do anything with a degree in physics?" That's the line they sold me on. No way I'm teaching HS with the way schools are. Hats off to you.
@Azradok5 күн бұрын
@@FallNorth Physicists have data. There were supposed to be a lot of jobs in the last 10-15 years in physics. There haven't been and we have the data as to why. Boomers mostly decided not to retire around 2008 when the crash happened. They've been staying in their jobs.
@Azradok5 күн бұрын
I'm a PhD, and have a very similar understanding of modern academia. It is great that you have posted this video. Thank you
@OlBoris4 күн бұрын
As a grad student, I had a professor plagiarize an entire term paper of mine which he used as a chapter in his book. My complaint to him and the department fell on deaf ears. I was told that my worked belonged to the professor because all grad work belonged to the professor who taught me. What a bunch of garbage.
@B76SkyWarrior27 күн бұрын
Holy Sh!t… does this mean that plagiarism is a feature and not a bug of the academic landscape?!?!🤬😳
@Greengeist0527 күн бұрын
Did you get any credit/mention in References as a contributing graduate student?
@freshmanenglishhelp27 күн бұрын
That's absolutely crazy! Surely that would be illegal??
@AnotherEmi27 күн бұрын
My University (as most in America) expels fraudulent plagiarists, but I've never heard of professors being fired for the same reason. Do you have a link to your original publication online for us to compare his book to?
@taylermontgomery200427 күн бұрын
@@freshmanenglishhelp None at all
@B76SkyWarrior27 күн бұрын
"He got angry, and I laughed at him..." I love it.
@bedlambreakfast5548Ай бұрын
❤
@lukewest4691Ай бұрын
My respect for you hit a new high when I heard you say that!
@SF-fb6lvАй бұрын
My admiration for Sabine shot up 10-fold when she said that (and it was already very high)! I wish more people had her guts.
@josephjanitorius797Ай бұрын
Probably the most german part of this video. Loved it.
@luizamaralphdАй бұрын
Literally iconic
@PcarnevaaaАй бұрын
I'm very glad you did post this video. As a disillusioned postdoc stuck in an endless loop of writing hollow research papers to get grants that retread work already done decades earlier (with a fresh coat of the latest buzzword added); all the while trying to make ends meet on a salary you wouldn't need to go to school for in the first place, with no job security and my mental health destroyed; I feel happy to know there are ways out of this wretched system. You're not alone in feeling like you never fit in - a lot of us feel like our dreams are dead.
@hellhound45vil9 күн бұрын
"The bureaucracy must expand to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy."
@bbacher9513 күн бұрын
Yep, also sounds very german to me.
@ToTheStars32711 күн бұрын
Its not just bureaucracy, it is the entire monetary system. It has failed us, but we wont see it. So we continue the absurdity, at the cost of both human lives, as well as overall mental health and well-being.
@morpheas76810 күн бұрын
@@morpheas768 - it's costing the planet more, which will have the last laugh ultimately...
@recur687 күн бұрын
@@morpheas768 The current monetary system is successful: It is doing what it is supposed to do, and with great efficiency. What it is supposed to do, however, is transfer wealth from the masses to billionaires.
@MohammadBenSalamah7 күн бұрын
That sweet spot when bureaucracy becomes a Ponzi scheme.
@Luxedrina7 күн бұрын
Thank you for sharing Sabine, we love you!
@kevind.mccarthy2450Ай бұрын
Yeah!! we do! ;))
@martacollellАй бұрын
My thoughts exactly!!
@jrodgers33Ай бұрын
Me too ❤
@arnoutsmit8951Ай бұрын
Thank you Sabine! You are a great educator and human being.
@user-oi5nu2nn7pАй бұрын
I want to push back that it's not token capitualation that results in the glass ceiling for women. And programs that require diversity and representation do not reenforce outdated world views, but I respect feeling frustrated that they are not a comprohensive solution either. I refuse to take away the victories of civil rights champions of the past that forced the hand for those capitulations, even if there is still more work left to do.
@memegazerАй бұрын
Dear Sabine, No, you have not failed. That you're not doing the "bs" scientific works doesn't mean that your dream of becoming a scientist failed. You're one of the best scientific minds, and your contribution to the field shouldn't be underestimated. You succeeded. Your dream is being materialized in a bit unique but beautiful way.
@user-mu5yq7wq4yАй бұрын
Thanks for the kind words, really appreciate that. It makes it all worthwhile. ❤️
@SabineHossenfelderАй бұрын
Yes Sabine, please keep challenging the status quo and hopefully we will return to caring about true scientific inquiry and not how to milk grant money to stuff institution's pockets.
@GenXCoderАй бұрын
I hope you’re making some of them youtube bucks at least Sabine. Keep em coming.
@djbabbotstownАй бұрын
@@SabineHossenfelderit sounds to me that the academics failed you
@dinninfreeman2014Ай бұрын
the greedy swines get their claws into everything, they don't care about what goes on, they are just there for the $$$. And as usual, literally everything and everyone else suffers.
@paulmichaelfreedman8334Ай бұрын
I love your no-BS approach, your directness, and your intrinsic honesty. Keep doing what you're doing, you are clearly very good at it and it's highly appreciated by a lot of people in here. 💪
@cxar719 күн бұрын
It's remarkable how similar the stories from academia are from people that are willing to talk about it openly.
@DuirBlack3 күн бұрын
My jaw dropped. That was a very powerful testimony.
@ApprendreSansNecessiteАй бұрын
Hahaha we exist 😂😂😂 .....
@user-ec3rm9wr1nАй бұрын
@@user-ec3rm9wr1nwho?
@meisbackforeverАй бұрын
No real news though.. Its how it works
@andersfant4997Ай бұрын
@@andersfant4997 this may be obvious to insiders. But it was news to me
@EvgeniBelinАй бұрын
@@andersfant4997 if you were trans and rich and your father is billionaire things would be different
@user-ec3rm9wr1nАй бұрын
That's exactly why I never went back to academia after my master's. It was all about what to do to get that extra grant. Everyone (including myself) was writing bullshit to get grants. I used to want to become a scientist since I was a child. The reality killed that dream for me too... I totally get it.
@sorooshaАй бұрын
Same here. Publishing has so much metagaming, that it's not producing good work. My thesis adviser told me to split my paper up into 3-5 papers, publish them separately and have them all cite each other to inflate my impact numbers. I knew academia was bullshit as soon as that was suggested.
@Joker22593Ай бұрын
You did the right thing.
@SabineHossenfelderАй бұрын
The institutions are failing, and in order to save the scientific knowledge to go down with it, we need people teaching straight to the public, and not only the raw science, but all the epistemological nuances around it. You are a brave and inspiring person! Thanks ❤
@irifhirАй бұрын
When the questions you want to find answers to (buy doing science) collide with "will said answers make line go up?" Will your quest to unlock the mysteries of the universe be profitable? Isn't as much "reality" as it is "Capitalism". You, as an individual, might have as much luck changing the laws of physics as you would changing the effects that Capitalism (specifically the profit motive) has on doing science.🤷♂️
@bootstraphan6204Ай бұрын
But what's the alternative that already exists? Universities have huge issues but they still do focus on topics you'd never see a fully commercialized industry indulge. It is an evil but a lesser evil. What else is there?
@StefanLopuszanskiАй бұрын
From the obituary of Peter Higgs, Daily Telegraph, April 9, 2024 Higgs formally retired in 1996, having long complained that the university [Edinburgh] only kept him on just in case his work won a Nobel Prize. He was horrified when in 2017 the university named the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics in his honour, insisting that in today’s climate he would be unemployable in academia. “I don’t think I would be regarded as productive enough,” he said, pointing out that the entire output of his career amounted to barely a dozen published papers. “A message would go round the department, ‘Please give a list of your recent publications’. And I would send back a statement, ‘None’,” he said.
@JupiterThunder15 күн бұрын
Thank you for being on You Tube!! We need your thoughtful takes on all of the subjects you share with us!❤
@elenafetter96903 күн бұрын
A bit too much? Perhaps the best video of the year. Thank you for being you, Sabine. - Sacramento, USA
@rwarren58Ай бұрын
Best video in the channel, IMO.
@lucassiccardi8764Ай бұрын
Bringing the issues to light is one small step towards the possibility of changing them in the future.
@eclectictechАй бұрын
She has been promoting this channel for years dont listen to the narrative she is pushing. She has been ALL about being a youtuber for years now for sure her work has dropped off look at the amount of time she puts in this channel!
@legbert123Ай бұрын
you sweet summer child@@eclectictech
@legbert123Ай бұрын
A bit too much? this is the worst example of a video this year. Sabine has been pushing this channel at the expense if actual research for years now any science realeated issue on this channel is fraught with innaccurate information and borderline lies.
@legbert123Ай бұрын
"The moment you put people into big institutions, the goal shifts from knowledge discovery to money-making" is the key quote of this video.
@selohcin23 күн бұрын
No, the goal shifts to "sustain the institution (aka bureaucracy)".
@Frank-ej8hd22 күн бұрын
@@Frank-ej8hd which mostly involves making money to be fair
@jmanwild8721 күн бұрын
Uh Sabine, pensions and health benefits, are very important to "normal" American working ppl too. 😂
@JediYutu20 күн бұрын
I disagree, everything on earth is about making money in some form, so this statement is quite anodyne. There is something else going on in academia besides greed - proof is that everyone who works there is poor.
@kingofsiamgt19 күн бұрын
- Sabine "Capitalism is good, actually" Hossenfelder. One more example of why natural scientists would be well served to occasionally listen to a social scientist.
@leahsander549019 күн бұрын
Thank you for your honesty and pulling the curtain back on the very flawed instutions of academia. I would also like to express my graditude and appreciation for your being her on KZhead. I've learned so much for you and look forward to learning more!
@shadidsciencetechhealth15344 күн бұрын
You didn't fail, Sabine. A corrupt system failed you. So happy to see you have reinvented yourself and found peace and a sense of fair exchange. You inspire me to keep trying to find a better future.
@derekdalton56582 күн бұрын
I am a professor but totally understand the terrible rat race. i was once writing an academic book (rather well known one now) but my HoD knocked on my office door one day and told me that the university didn't value scholarship any more. i retired as soon as was financially able to, and moved to Thailand. never been back. Take care, Donald
@donaldquicke547Ай бұрын
thailand? is that not a dangerousplaceto be for a white man?
@esecallumАй бұрын
Sawasdi kap. You and Sab have stumbled into the invisible walls of a technological house of cards. Science is supposed to be a process of discovery where we chose the most accurate way to describe observations, but that depends on who “we” are. We are not what you think we are. We are more like the subjects of the virtual world in the Matrix. Controlled with lies and a brilliant characterization of the world, however, it is built essentially on lies. We struggle not against the flesh, but against spiritual principalities in heaven and hell. It’s all about control, this world. God is. Choke di, farang.
@memyselfandi8544Ай бұрын
RE: the university didn't value scholarship any more I guess they are looking for foundations for their latest propaganda projects. Research is subordinate to policy. Findings that are contrary to their policies, or their imagined ideal world, is not appreciated.
@elbuggoАй бұрын
@@elbuggo _"101% of sociologists confirm that their research proves that climate-change is 102% manmade."_
@ibubezi7685Ай бұрын
@@ibubezi7685 I always get a kick out of people who loudly proclaim "all the scientists agree on climate change", as if science was a democracy and the facts should actually care what scientists think.
@fantabuloussnuffaluffagusАй бұрын
My dad was a scientist, and I watched his constant struggle with politics and funding. He had a stress-related heart attack at 50; he survived it, but was never the same afterwards.
@landondyerАй бұрын
it's sad that happened to your dad
@womenweloveАй бұрын
“Was”, did he retire or quit? And I’m sorry your dad was out through that kind of stress..
@asia1174Ай бұрын
That is so sad! Im so sorry for your dad
@margarethamaartje3716Ай бұрын
@@margarethamaartje3716 perhaps he died.
@binbows2258Ай бұрын
I'm sorry for your dad! Hope his heart recovering and he takes care of himself better. Nothing is more precious than our health, not even our job or idealism.
@imeldahaloho4798Ай бұрын
Thank you for sharing your story Sabine. My wife is going to her first post-doc and you've given me a lot to think about. Also, props on the "In the Pale Moonlight" ending :)
@TheDilettante6 сағат бұрын
You are absolutely right about everything! It will take many years for me to recover from the emotional damage that I sustained from my later years as an academic! Thanks so much for sharing this!
@marksegall5142 күн бұрын
"I am failed", something we rarely hear on social media, while everyone tells success stories here. Bold statement
@sercem7314Ай бұрын
Hi failed, I'm dad
@gregh5061Ай бұрын
@@gregh5061 Hi dad and failed, I'm Sigma DeLigma
@NoqtisАй бұрын
failed is a bold statement indeed given she has a phd and raised two children
@aliceglass828Ай бұрын
@@aliceglass828 people have different standards for success I suppose. You could have two noble prizes but if your goal was to cure cancer and you failed, you'd consider yourself a failure, I guess.
@gregh5061Ай бұрын
@@gregh5061 no shit sherlock
@aliceglass828Ай бұрын
As a scientist struggling with the broken academic science system, I resonate with all that she said and it's totally spot on
@cesarmenor-salvan9535Ай бұрын
Start with some real science and you will NO LONGER STRUGGLE: Vacuum Ambient EM Field Dipole Theory aka Quantum Inertial Dipole Theory aka Graviton Theory aka Dark Mass / Energy Theory aka Vacuum Zero Point Energy Theory aka PLANCK PARTICLE THEORY is T.O.E. postulated by the Germans and brought to fruition by US DoD via Defense Contractors like Lockheed that solved TOE so the Pentagon gave them cart blanche on CASH to designed and build working Quantum Field Densification Drives aka HFGWGs and they solved during technical material science issues during SDI STAR WARS Weapons Programs of the 1980s and 90s and the result is "UAPs" aka Hypersonic Weapons in the news for years! Work EM FIELD DRIVES have been flying for MORE THAN 4 DECADES! Now You Know Too! #FiringRoom1
@johnbozeАй бұрын
When I was a grad student, I saw how the brilliant, wonderful postdocs were worn down. Not by their bosses or their science, but by the system. And after 4+ years as postdocs, they were still earning less than brand new public school teachers. We love our science but have to make a living, too.
@casualnerdjason6678Ай бұрын
It’s the same for public school teachers - the system burns a human out.
@justbeegreenАй бұрын
@@casualnerdjason6678 You have the background for understanding physics now you need to take your knowledge to the edgy side of physics that is making great strides in understanding the workings of our reality. Materialism is as dead as the Big Bang is now. The new frontier is of a Conscious Universe where observation collapses the wave function into particles and atoms which creates matter as we have seen over and over again in the double slit experiments. Good luck on your journey. Remember it is always better to abandon a sinking ship early rather than later.
@elonever.2.071Ай бұрын
Its also my story!
@shidiskasАй бұрын
It takes so much courage to be this honest. Thank you! This is exactly the type of communication we need. So happy you shared this.
@SuperNova1537 күн бұрын
You want real heartfelt testimony, just ask any immigrants crossing the border.
@ronpapi95394 күн бұрын
Thank you for sharing your story. It brought tears to my eyes. I have personally witnessed the same. You're making a greater impact than the paper factories now!
@brettmartin2754Күн бұрын
"The moment you put people into big institutions the goal shifts from knowledge seeking to money making." Very well said.
@krishnamoorthysankaranaray4057Ай бұрын
What is the background of the university president? Is it Philosophy or Education-focused? Or is it Business-centered?
@LA_HAАй бұрын
@@LA_HA It might not matter. It might be comparative literature. The system is so entrenched. The one university president and his/her pet projects may have only slight impact on what is expected and what gets done.
@wendyleeconnelly2939Ай бұрын
@@wendyleeconnelly2939 True and that's what I'm saying. The choices given in the type of candidates has a lot to say about what is going on within that institution. This is directly tied to what's happening in the PS/K-12 school system. What's happening there? In short, traditional values and education have been replaced with "progressive" values and disinterest in educating school children due to CRT and leftist ideological organizations that openly brag about how they're not in the education business anymore. They're in the political business now and going forward. This is Taught to students, who then go to college, graduate with this mentality and belief system, and then become college employees and professors. The connection is there for anyone who takes a moment to look. Except there's a problem... Thinking isn't taught. In fact, it's banned
@LA_HAАй бұрын
@@LA_HAwrong, for instance CRT is a college course. Next progressive values I guess by that you mean critical thinking skills and a focus on S.T.E.M. It’s funny because traditional values and education immediately brings to mind religious schools where if the science doesn’t fit your 1500 year old horror anthology than the science must be wrong. Also what do you mean by traditional education , the humors, leach therapy, miasma, aroma therapy, chiropractors , or maybe phrenology. I am however sorry that conservatives long ago lost in the market place of ideas I just wish you guys would stop trying to sell people on your SECOND lost cause movement. We are not going to go back in time there is a reason progress is the root word of progressive. This time of traditional thinking wasn’t so great by the way most people call it the dark ages where positing a new theory might get you thrown in ye olde gaol maybe just for suggesting a non heliocentric view of the universe.
@geneduffyАй бұрын
@@geneduffy [Edited for clarity] Thank you. I'm so glad you did exactly what you did. Otherwise, I would have wasted my time thinking an actual conversation was possible. Good Day
@LA_HAАй бұрын
Hi Sabine, I’m a third year PhD student in bioengineering and I just want to say thanks for making this video. You’re the only person who I’ve heard describe exactly how I feel about academia. My dream has died too and most of the time I feel crazy because no one else seems to feel the same way, but thank you for making me feel less alone. You are brave and lovable ❤️
@angelicarosegalvanАй бұрын
Same, while it sucks I hope you also value that you figured it out early in your academic career and not a decade and a half later….
@SamRossmanАй бұрын
damn I'm just about to go into bioengineering😭
@ramseygo121Ай бұрын
All this makes me happy that I'm "just" a practical nurse (as we call it here in Finland) and never had the drive for academy studies. I'm in a job that I really like and enjoy, even tho money ain't great, no stress etc at all tho :)
@takoja507Ай бұрын
@@ramseygo121 it's fine, but do it for industry, not academia.
@thierryfaquet7405Ай бұрын
I'm in my second year of an evolution/genetics PhD. My lab group and the biology faculty is pretty communal and this sentiment of cynicism is common around us. We're kind of aware this is all one big passion project, and some of us might become rockstars but others are like those Disney channel celebrities who disappear after 5 years and show up working at a small town car dealership. Not sure if anyone's actually considering continuing in academia. A lot are looking at industry or government employment (our department is marine and conservation biology, in a country where seafood and agriculture are major exports).
@calamitysangfroid2407Ай бұрын
No, I don't think your video was "too much", but rather was completely on point--and appreciated.
@ctaylor14602 күн бұрын
Hi, Sabine - I have had a different experience of academia, maybe partly because I've been a Prof at a smaller university where there is much less emphasis on grinding out papers and much more emphasis on sharing information with curious young minds. I'd like to make two points: 1) I admire you for telling your very personal story to your audience, and 2) although what you are doing now was not your original dream, I think it is in fact HUGELY IMPORTANT and that you have found your true calling in being such an effective educator on the Internet. As you stated, information is expanding so quickly that it is growing beyond our means and our time to learn it all. What we need more than people writing more papers is people explaining what all this information means in understandable terms. You are VERY good at this! So keep your chin up and keep doing what you are doing. You are providing an extremely valuable service!
@DrDave-Ecologic9 күн бұрын
I just loved it when you said NO to work for that professor, THATS what I call true integrity 🤩
@maritrnning5357Ай бұрын
Yeah big balls for that, props.
@Broken_robot1986Ай бұрын
@@Broken_robot1986 yes, pukaaluwo
@pimpilikaaАй бұрын
Science is Dead, only China and Russia care about it.
@LaplacianDalembertianАй бұрын
that was definitely baller. absolutely nothing unreasonable either.
@Snake369Ай бұрын
With 1.2M subscribers you have a real job! A real role, a real voice to teach what ever you want to teach! Genius!
@GaynorOFlynnАй бұрын
Yep. The funny thing is, she has more subscribers & viewers than most TV shows. Highly successful.
@eoinoconnell185Ай бұрын
That’s certainly more attention than papers get
@Frolova3434Ай бұрын
Until, of course, KZhead shuts her channel down for some obscure reason.
@CrimeaRiverАй бұрын
@CrimeaRiver But people have heard of her now.
@molybdaenmornell123hopp5Ай бұрын
Yes her brand imagine is valuable, once you get to her level on KZhead, type of content ,influence tv networks come chasing you.
@mackyj7801Ай бұрын
Someone finally has the courage to say "The emperor has no clothes"
@chenacom13 күн бұрын
What incredible honesty, a trait sorely lacking in today’s world. Thank you for posting the video. We all need a “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” moment in our lives and you gave us yours. Fabulous! Oh, and I did subscribe!
@user-ln5ub2lb1h3 күн бұрын
Got fired from a job you didn’t have! What a world we live in!
@lowelllarsen5947Ай бұрын
I’ve had a rejection letter for a position I never applied for. I wish now that I’d kept it.
@suestreet9934Ай бұрын
Now THAT'S a badge of honor to wear proudly! And so is your astuteness in pointing it out. 😊
@dgalicen2876Ай бұрын
@@suestreet9934 -I got an approval for a gambling licence I didn't apply for - lol...
@kadmowАй бұрын
Power-tripping is extremely common in academia.
@segevstormlord3713Ай бұрын
Should have reported to him to hr and have him dismissed.
@Zen_PowerАй бұрын
This matches up exactly with my 16 years at NASA. A colleague of mine called it "playing the doctor game", because all the PhD's were battling each other for the few secure jobs while the majority languished as grantees.
@iqvoiceАй бұрын
"Science" (Which means "through the knowledge of")...literally means being open to truth, wanting to explore the actual truth and to want to know the truth.
@millanferende6723Ай бұрын
The other one, opposite one (cannot name the term because of the censor), is the desire for money, grants, more grants, desiring to promote a problem rather than a solution to keep a job, propagating biases and being afraid to look in another direction out of fear of being chastised and reprimanded.
@millanferende6723Ай бұрын
You sound like you were a contractor instead of a government employee. Why didn't you hire on with the Federal Government?
@la-gl4uhАй бұрын
She got what she gave out to Kaku and others in his field daring to tell them that they were wasting resources that should go to real fields of study.
@r13hd22Ай бұрын
This is precisely how The $ystem weeds out scientists w/ character standing on principle vs. those who'll readily sell out (i.e. produce & publish the results The $ystem wants). 😉
@atendriyadasa6746Ай бұрын
No, it's not too much. Thanks for sharing your story. It is brutally honest, and puts my mind at ease a bit. I also have left Academia, for some of the reasons you mentioned.
@ladynerva17 сағат бұрын
Thank you for posting this video!! I have a physics undergrad degree but sensed these issues you bring up, though I am not female. So I changed to computer science and worked as an engineer. Now I am very happy to watch your content and continue learning (about!) the things that I truly love. Thank you for your work.
@jimboha21 сағат бұрын
Not too much, it is just right and honest. Don’t ever change!
@Walter-MontalvoАй бұрын
Thank you from the entire team!
@SabineHossenfelderАй бұрын
Well done you.
@chronixchaos7081Ай бұрын
Given the system appears to be so broken, and given it’s the people’s money at work, what could the people do to demand change? Does this have to stay broken forever?
@berniehaberemeier2053Ай бұрын
@@berniehaberemeier2053 -- Excellent questions! To which I humbly add one more: Is the academic establishment even worth trying to fix, or do we need to replace it with something better?
@ConwayBobАй бұрын
@@berniehaberemeier2053spreading awareness helps. (Knowing is half the battle) But I've seen various proposals that would change the incentive structure to support good science; rather than Shitposting in scientific journals for grants. As for how to get people to adopt these new incentives? I think things will have to get worse before they get better. People are going to keep doing things just the way they are until they can't anymore.
@siraaron4462Ай бұрын
I'm a PhD. physicist who never really had any hope of a career in academia. I really appreciate your honesty and telling it like it is. I have always found academia to be pretentious, arrogant, and intellectually stuffy. Thank you for making this video. You've earned my respect.
@jamesmarie1083Ай бұрын
And you’re a man?!?
@jeravincerАй бұрын
So, what do you do?
@FernandoChavesАй бұрын
Only academics use words like "intellectually stuffy" hahaha
@HappyduderawrАй бұрын
Hopefully you didn't get a job as a "Calibration Technician" for a company that does NIST certification of equipment. So many physics majors with BS degrees seem to enter that job market.
@glennwoodruff2398Ай бұрын
I was a PhD student, but I only finished with my masters. This was due to the lack of consistency between classes and the PhD exam. They would put problems on there that even the professors could not solve. They had an extra credit point system to wear a few published papers prior to the exam, you would be given credit towards the exam. There was at least one student who never took the exam and passed because they had enough papers within two years. and this is only because the professor was putting that graduate students name on the papers, even though they just started.
@jarnoldpАй бұрын
Thank you posting such a heart-felt appraisal of your experiences in academia. I can relate to much of what you described in your early career as a graduate student. It would have been a tragedy to have not posted this video.
@squeezy994 күн бұрын
What an amazing story. I feel exactly the same way. Being a content creator sounds way better than being in academia.
@nylaway717019 сағат бұрын
Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy: In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely.
@buybuydandavisАй бұрын
In isolated islands, visionaries who understand this law gain power and work hard against it. But it's a Sisyphean task.
@wadehines9971Ай бұрын
Witness the ratio of administrators to teachers in the California State University system. 18 to 1 in against the instructors!
@wallacegrommet9343Ай бұрын
@@wallacegrommet9343 That's a bit deceptive. Some of those administrators support instruction. Some support research grants. Sabina isn't complaining about research load as much as research priorities.
@JNobleDaggettАй бұрын
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Brave people such as yourself need to be honest about the state of physics and academia in order for it to change.
@brianlemberger5022Ай бұрын
Nice quote, I did not know this. To be fair, in my experience academic management did care about science, in so far as it relates to their own interests at least. Since the issues in academia (and academic publishing) go beyond each individual institution, however, I suppose it's easy to assign blame elsewhere and perpetuate the system rather than even try to change it. This perpetuation is, incidentally of course, also to the personal benefit of academic management.
@gregorseidel8203Ай бұрын
Thank you for posting this! I am 82, left the US for Germany in 1965, earned my PhD with work at a Max Planck Institute and after a 12 year stint at the MPI I got a pure research position at a major German university. I was an electron microscopist, so a lot of people needed my help. I managed to publish 100+ papers and never had to write a grant proposal. I finally became disillusioned with science in general and just wound up helping others with their research. I also struggled to help my female coworkers get the credit they deserved for the work they did. Science was always more of a hobby for me. I write this just to say, your mileage may vary. I'm sorry you had such a bitter experience, but you have taken the bull by the horns and certainly have a greater scientific impact now than if you had just gone on in research. I love your videos and your sense of humour. Liebe Grüße aus dem kühlen hessischen Vogelsberg.
@BruceBoschekАй бұрын
I believe I had the pleasure of reading one of your papers. Good to see people of science remain around it, even when retired. All the best to you good sir!
@MrQwertyman111Ай бұрын
@@MrQwertyman111 Thanks kindly.
@BruceBoschekАй бұрын
Today I've discovered a hero that I didn't know I had! Thanks Sabine.
@abreu22323 сағат бұрын
You don't owe us an explanation, and we are glad you are here.
@smbs472 күн бұрын
And it's the story of a successful science educator who touched millions and made the world a slightly better place. Thank you, Sabine.
@ArcgatewayАй бұрын
Unfortunately, this IS a universal story in academia. It's the dirty little secret that never seems to be talked about. Despite all that, I'm glad you have found a place for yourself and choose to share your thoughts and opinions with us all. Thank you for putting this video out!
@TharkysOlafsonАй бұрын
It is spoken about, but those outside the system .. do not get heard. Listen carefully to what she says. While a bit harsh to say, she *did* know what they were doing was wrong, and she played along with it, until they bit her.
@ronankelly4471Ай бұрын
Fenomenal true exposed. Dear Sabine you are so great, worry do not, you have imense quality and you are an exceptional person. The reward will come and one day you will be happy with the output, I am sure you are happy with what you are doing now and be pleased cause it is giving you satisfaction, you do very nice, it is another road in your career. One foot on the back one step ahead. Many people know your works and they follow your career and path and they like you the way you are.
@TmyLVАй бұрын
It's not really a dirty little secret. There are lots of ways to observe it, even as an undergrad if you work in someone's lab, some people who will confess especially if you ask the right questions, maybe not in physics departments because physicists have that personality. Sabine came from a family of accountants, they had some idea that money makes the world go round. Although the exact nature of academic research is something you have to experience it to understand. An outsider who doesn't know the field at an expert level won't know how much garbage is produced that serves merely to clog up the intellectual pipeline.
@artichoke60045Ай бұрын
@@ronankelly4471 I don't know if I can blame Sabine though, she is but a human like us, and human need food on the table, especially for their family. I would like to imagine Scientist are just normal people who aren't particularly noble, nor should we expect them to be.
@VerpalАй бұрын
You know what the scientific community needs? MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU! Thank you for your honesty and integrity.👏👏👏💖
@MissChanandlerBong16 күн бұрын
As an ex-researcher for a German uni institute, your description of how the system works was spot on.
@AtlisWerks16 күн бұрын
I achieved my PhD in philosophy when I was in my 40s. I'm an ex miner. After graduation, I became a security guard until retirement. My PhD was a classy route to poverty. So I'm glad you posted this. Dr. does look good on my drivers licence.😅
@joefearn9694Ай бұрын
I appreciate "my PhD was a classy route to poverty". It's the case for so many.
@sundayoliver3147Ай бұрын
The wife of the US president is also a Doctor. She's a school teacher with a doctorate in education and demands that people refer to her as "Doctor". The title is meaningless.
@garydorfner6695Ай бұрын
Why didn't you become a university prof?
@inertia179Ай бұрын
What a coincidence, I'm also an ex-minor
@Blade.5786Ай бұрын
@@garydorfner6695 Not really meaningless. She just isn't a doctor in the common sense.
@titandarknight2698Ай бұрын
You have not failed, "The System" is failing us all. Thank you Sabine for trying to broaden our horizons. Hopefully this brave outreach will start some meaningful conversation.
@jerril42Ай бұрын
The sad part is that "the system" is made up of us, the academic people. We prioritize money, greed, and power, and in turn, make the life of other lower-level people miserable. Then, we blame "the system".
@mehransharghАй бұрын
Same with NGO's honestly. A lot of people, social sciences degrees and similar stuff, who are so passionate to work with communities, with underpriviliged people, to try to approach existing issues with new techniques, are absolutely annihilated by the grant-money procedure. Just write billions of pages of bullshit, measure absolute irrelevant stats, write mind-numbing reports, and end up wasting 75% of your energy and time on all of this, and only 25% actually doing what you want to do and are actually applying for funding.
@ChaplainDMKАй бұрын
The really important part is that forum cretins will keep parroting "Peer reviews!" when such "trusted" institutions don't even have the minimal digital literacy, and I mean Harvards, too. Total rebuilding of scholarship is inevitable.
@generaltheoryАй бұрын
Go for a PhD in "The Art of Sustainable Bullshit" and you will be a winner.
@BernhardSchwarz-xs8kpАй бұрын
The sad part is that the system is made up of us, the academic people; we prioritize money, greed, and power, and in turn, make the life of other lower-level people miserable. Then, we blame the system.
@mehransharghАй бұрын
Thank you for your post. I am also a pHD physicist, class of 1975. I also did well in school but somehow I saw that the academic route was too risky. I went into industry and found a stable career path. The best thing I did was raise two wonderful daughters. I once worked with a Danish machinist who told me, “Girls are the best. They never get too old to give you a little kiss on the cheek.” I hope you have a family like that.
@tedwashburn10 сағат бұрын
I have loved your absolute candor and conviction since I started reading your articles while you were at the Perimeter Institute. I too have had a similar academic journey as yours. My dream died too and I am glad that it did because I was miserable by the time I finished my two postdocs. I had to evolve and adapt, and now I am happy where I am. I thank you for sharing your experience and continuing to share your physics knowledge with the world.
@infinidhi8 күн бұрын
The wrong incentives always lead to the wrong results. Thanks for calling this out!
@simonburrowsАй бұрын
Thanks from the entire team!
@SabineHossenfelderАй бұрын
Well said, Simon. Sad, but well said.
@eddierayvanlynch6133Ай бұрын
Yeah, spending days in YT 😂then playing victim card because life isn't easy. But she's not the only one, YT star physicists love to shine, but end up bitter and angry since they don't hand out Nobel prizes for clicks. And calling others bs (the terrible system that gave you free education) is easy, not so easy when its own
@ksenobiteАй бұрын
now we can talk about how a certain "99% consensus" about some stuff involving the climate was obtained
@orionbetelgeuse1937Ай бұрын
@@orionbetelgeuse1937 If you question the "99% consensus" you can easily estimate the chance of getting a proposal accepted. :-)
@amigalemmingАй бұрын
I love your honesty. My brother got a PhD in theoretical physics from an Ivy League university and he felt the same way you do. He left academia a while ago and works in software now, but he still does his physics and math research every day in his spare time. I admire him a lot.
@CatcherinthecornАй бұрын
And thats why number of patents in Western countries decreased in last years. Chinese mastered it team work long time ago and thrive because of it, while here its all divide and conquer of talented motivated people
@tatjana7008Ай бұрын
@@tatjana7008 What? US issued patents are a historic high. Also the number of patents issued has zero connection with fundamental physics research - the measure is peer reviewed publications.
@LavabugАй бұрын
@@Lavabug first of all, Sabine is not from US, she tells about experience in Germany and Europe. Second, number of confirmed patents is much important then applications, and China leads there. Third, science is interconnected and discoveries in fundamental physics might influence practical applications as well. Thats why I do theoretical computer science, because it can influence every branch of science. About papers and publications, many chairs in my university interconnected with industry, and they often end up in patents.
@tatjana7008Ай бұрын
I also left academia, I really didn't like the way it works.
@allan710Ай бұрын
@@tatjana7008 The US issues more utilities patents than any other country, and many Chinese enterprises seek US patents as well. Practical applications have little to do with fundamental science, they are an accident. If you're using patent number to measure scientific progress, you have no knowledge of how science works or what counts as innovation. Patents only measure commercial products, not the generation of knowledge which far outpaces what patents indicate (I am a former patent examiner).
@LavabugАй бұрын
I'd argue that you and other scientists who are sharing their knowledge to a larger audience is a huge service to science in general. I do realize that this is not your passion but I just wanted to express my appreciation and gratitude for what you're doing. You and a couple other YT science channels are planting the seed to many future scientists minds and that's something to be proud of. 👍
@Johnny-fw9xj3 күн бұрын
Great video Sabine, I love your KZhead channel! I am 71 year old male physicist who experienced everything you talk about in this video. In particular I saw persistent discrimination against my female colleagues.
@garytaylor8214 күн бұрын
Speaking as retired full professor (social sciences) at a research university in the in USA I fully support your decision. You play a vital role as a public intellectual helping to educate non-specialists about the state of scientific inquiry in the physical sciences. Your KZhead videos reach many more people - several orders of magnitude - than typical research publications read by a handful of specialists. So I say Bravo! Keep up the good work.
@richardcoughlin8931Ай бұрын
You've gotta admit, from the respected Popperian POV at least, social science should almost never be called a science?
@lighthousesaunders7242Ай бұрын
truer words were never spoken
@matteogirelli1023Ай бұрын
@@lighthousesaunders7242 "Respected Popperian" bro hardly any academics of philosophy take Popper seriously. But yes, if you take Popper seriously, then you have to reject sociology and economics, and some of biology and climatology would also be on shaky grounds.
@amihartzАй бұрын
Bravo
@link01ukАй бұрын
The problem is these videos get hijacked by conspiracy nutters, rather then anybody who could do anything about the issues she raises
@paintspot1509Ай бұрын
Near the end of my PhD, my advisor wanted me to take a paper I wrote for PRL and write a longer one for PRC and I told him I didn't feel like there was really anything more to say for our work. I later felt bad as he ended up not getting tenure which left me in a weird state as I finished my degree without a local advisor and thus no advocate or mentor at the university. I ended up set loose as soon as the paperwork was signed on my diploma. I ended up like a lot of physicists, working in finance, and after getting married and having two children, there really wasn't any going back. Plus the realization that my notion of what academia is like was really, like yours, more of a romantic dream rather than the reality. I don't really miss academia, I miss what I thought academia was supposed to be.
@rbrbrts25 күн бұрын
Perfect response-and almost exactly my same story: the idea-or dream-is very different than the reality. I never finished my Ph.D because of this.
@pillsber20 күн бұрын
Thanks for sharing. What role are you currently working in finance?
@Ducktility20 күн бұрын
How did you made your skills as a physicist applicable to finance? It’s obviously transferable to those that know but employers don’t always fall under that category
@EyanZ199719 күн бұрын
@@Ducktility I really just do software development, but in a financial context for back-end calculations.
@rbrbrts19 күн бұрын
@@EyanZ1997 Well, in the mid-1990s when I finished, that was not really true. Physicists were desirable for implementing numerical models, especially if they had software skill. Since I worked for two years in software before grad school, and did a lot of modeling in grad school, it was an easy sell.
@rbrbrts19 күн бұрын
You are awesome and smarter than most. I love your spirit, candar, and direct speech. I am grateful that you are here. I have a BS in Aerospace Engineering (I was never able to practice my degree, but it lead to a great lifestyle) and even at that level saw what you have described. Thank you again for teaching us more about science and physics. Thank you for posting this video.
@santaclaus28833 күн бұрын
As someone who's been struggling with the trajectory of my career, I thank you whole heartedly for posting this video. You are an amazingly strong person.
@annebright385214 күн бұрын
Glad you left the ending in; that sums up everything you said in one sentence. _"Societal pressures too often make me unable to speak, but here at least I can choose what I say."_
@MavendowАй бұрын
This is by far your most brilliant video.❤
@berniv7375Ай бұрын
That conclusion is no true. YT's terms and the algorithms decide what you can and can't say and or write on this platform.
@07Flash11MRCАй бұрын
We will in fact, never know if Sabine can actually choose what she can say on KZhead until the point she get’s regularly de-monetised or de-platformed. Rumble is where she’d be if in fact she did want to comment in a non-KZhead compliant way. Sabine is simply just operating in a field that is less socio-politically contentious. She’s far too intelligent to imagine her sitting in Plato’s cage with her back to the light, which makes that final statement very puzzling. Rather than underscoring her position, it undermines the viewer’s confidence that she truly understands the assaults on freedom of thought and expression and journalistic investigation that so very very many are experiencing right now.
@penpondsАй бұрын
@@07Flash11MRC - edit that comment, to make it say what you intended... ??
@kadmowАй бұрын
The fact that this statement is apparently no longer in the video is incredibly suspicious. I assume Sabine was either was forced to edit it or did so out of concern that those "societal pressures" were going to come to bear on her.
@RacistobamaАй бұрын
"I think I owe you an explanation" - No you don't, but I am glad you did give it anyway and I found your perspective very interesting.
@user-hw3vo3hf2rАй бұрын
Thanks Sabine, as an ex-academic scientist working for a national institution and now self employed forest science freelancer and I totally sympathize with your situation and experience. The great thing is that you give me (and thousands of others) the opportunity to have fun learning new things about our universe during my breaks. This process will accelerate interest in science and lead to who knows what discoveries. I call this a win win situation. You are wonderful and I can totally understand the marriage proposals. (Don't worry I am happily married with two kids who also love science).
@BarrieM4 күн бұрын
I’m a very senior university staff member who’s worked in large scales research funding (grants and contracts) for 12 years and this video is totally true! As someone who’s just survived breast cancer, I’m reflecting on how low satisfaction I’m now getting out of my job. Previously loved it, because I’ve helped researchers get literally millions of dollars in funding!
@theimperfectscrapper53134 күн бұрын
I'm a gardener with a lay interest in physics. Gardening is no bullshit in an otherwise cynical world. It makes for good health both physical and mental. I already had enough bullshit as an undergrad. The boffins careened off into ideological space and lost touch with the natural world, and all the brain-work made me depressed, so I started digging holes, moving rocks and planting shrubs, and this is a much happier place. I'm glad you escaped that miserable, dishonest path and took the path of truth. It is an inspiring story, and I'm a big fan. Most inspiring comments section here, too.
@lloydy3250Ай бұрын
Gardening is dramatically helped by cow manure and bullshit is not shunned either. (The REAL bullshit, not the bullshit bullshit!) ;-)
@GregorShapiroАй бұрын
Hear , hear !
@george1187Ай бұрын
Good for you lloydy! I wish you great success
@yourface07Ай бұрын
I’m actually thinking of going this route! It’s nice to hear someone who’s done so!
@gldfsh_Ай бұрын
The fact is, the amount of screentime required in any academic pursuit is unhealthy unless it is rigorously managed.
@soulscanner66Ай бұрын
I am glad you posted the video! As a female academic approaching retirement (and not with a pension), I can definitely relate to what you experienced. With 24,614 comments as of my posting, it is unlikely that you will see this, but THANK YOU.
@drtmvossАй бұрын
Sorry about your pension
@swingambassadorАй бұрын
I see you and you deserve better
@82jpАй бұрын
I see you.
@eroraf8637Ай бұрын
Love you Sabine, and thanks for posting this video. Problems will not get solved if they are not known
@hazembayado9521Күн бұрын
Hello Sabine, I am certain that many of your learners enjoy what you do and would love academia to shift from where they are. At end of the day, our time here is limited. I encourage you, not that you needed, to keep doing you what are doing.
@apolinariodavid544214 сағат бұрын
I attempted my PhD starting in 2019 at a federal research institute and was shocked to find what Sabine is talking about. Dozens of smart people working as PhD students, post docs or engineers were repackaging the same old data they produced years ago or followed outdated ideas with seemingly no use just for the sake of writing papers. The people there knew the absurdity of the situation but the need for money and job security overshadowed everything else. Finally after two years that shattered my scientific curiosity I broke out of that madness, cancelled my PhD position and left the academic world.
@GI-bg3thАй бұрын
Unlike you it dawned on me in my final year In college, that whilst I had adored science from my childhood, it was a career that I could not afford to chase for the rest of my adult life. Though the bug has never left me, today as I approach my 80th, year, real science education has become so accessible, thanks to you, and many like you on the net. Your wide variety subject matters, dispensed in your unique presentation style, I find educational and repeatedly amusing. Keep up the good work Sabine and stay true to your beliefs.
@kevinfox3875Ай бұрын
What you do now ?
@productivitysharma345528 күн бұрын
You lasted longer than I did... finished my PhD (having survived broken bones, deaths, years overseas research, changes in Committee, and a mother who said, "...but you are still unmarried") I quit academia and moved to Italy to milk cows and make wine. Now I write novels. I do miss the intellectualism. but not the politics. Love you, Sabine!
@rileyhoffman6629Ай бұрын
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. I took a gap year between getting my bachelor’s and going to graduate school. It’s now been a five-year gap year because I thought better of it after meeting lots of people already in the meat grinder. I sometimes wonder where my career would be, but I’ve found myself on a path more interesting and worthwhile to me.
@kurkenfruitАй бұрын
Care to plug your novel?
@Weberbros1Ай бұрын
@@Weberbros1 heck yeah! Thanks! Rachel Hoffman, SALTINE (Otis Books, 2021) No self-help, no politics, no trauma: just humor and humanity for smart adults who need a mental vacation...
@rileyhoffman6629Ай бұрын
@@rileyhoffman6629 that's the best pitch I've ever heard for a book in this day and age!
@__rikaisuruАй бұрын
In the end you won.
@jinfin22118 күн бұрын
Very well said! I’m glad you went ahead and post it.
@StephenSadler-yl5niКүн бұрын
I just discovered your channel today watching your commentary on String theory and its history. I love your videos and they’ve reminded me why I find physics so fascinating. You’re brilliant and I think you’re serving humanity and your mental health much better by bringing these issues and concepts you love to an audience who appreciates your passion more than some stuffy asshats on a review board.
@7grand-dad90011 күн бұрын
Welcome😊
@Thomas-gk4211 күн бұрын
Sabine, a brilliant summary of a common PhD experience. Much like my own. Thank you for pulling back the curtain.
@claudiabrugman684219 күн бұрын
Sabine, she is damn right
@vincentzevecke457816 күн бұрын
I did a PhD. The main finding of the work was that PhDs are a waste of time (which wasn't actually a new finding).
@JupiterThunder15 күн бұрын
@@JupiterThunderit just keep the wheel turning and you learn a lot in the process like what drugs work best to write XD
@manoo205613 күн бұрын
Also a retired academic. I had decent employment, was intellectually challenged, had more free time to accomplish what I wanted than I ever would have found in any other job, but at the same time was always disappointed by the lack of collegiality and any sense of cohesiveness in the department. The milieu - populated with tremendous egos, some earned, some not so much - made for a very lonely existence. I did my research, taught my courses and went home, spending as little time on campus as possible. There were very few friends to be found in such a environment. I loved my students - the only real saving grace. Thanks for your videos.
@RobG.-pf7foАй бұрын
Is it the doctoral defence which turns ourselves so offensive afterwards?
@mattinykanen4780Ай бұрын
Hey, sad to hear that. This sounds like bad luck, but you are definitly not alone. I build a new team at a company, interviewed many phd‘s. The easiest way to get them excited, was telling them that they would work with others on a common goal. I could literally see the spark in their eyes, as if they saw light for the first time after 3 years. I myself got lucky, my time during my phd was great. Insanenly interesting topic, bde ent success in my work and outstanding colleges.
@tiro0oO5Ай бұрын
The only way to get a sense of cohesiveness was to threaten to merge the department... the only time Architects seem to get along is when you suggest that the department might be replaced with a double degree of Arts and Engineering.
@fly_8659Ай бұрын
@@fly_8659 hehe good story.
@bill821617 күн бұрын
Thank you for sharing, I’m great full you did publish this.
@Emily-pb9kw4 күн бұрын
She is absolutely spot on. And kudos for putting your kids first. We need more Sabines.
@gototcm14 күн бұрын
Female biologist over 40 from Germany here. That's exactly how I see it. Not only from my own experience, but also from that of many acquaintances. At the beginning, you're quite happy that you can do what you like without being bothered. By the time you write your thesis at the latest, you realize the difficulties of the system that you describe. I was also irritated by the inaccuracy with which results are produced, at least in biology. As soon as you are in the system, you also see the incompetence (technical, organizational, human) of other researchers. I often had the impression that some were simply in the right place at the right time and were just willing to play along with this application circus. As a woman, it's particularly difficult if you want to start a family. It's hardly possible without help, including financial help, from grandparents. I know some who have made it at least some way, but only with the help of their parents. Yes, the system is weak. I've seen many excellent young researchers leave because they didn't want to play this game. Nevertheless, I have also met nice, very competent colleagues who have made it - but very few.
@inf2380Ай бұрын
"I was also irritated by the inaccuracy with which results are produced" THIS, ohhh you can't image how this makes me angry.
@Coolbunny-Ай бұрын
In the beginning, we were all ignorant and delusional. Then the realities of this world became apparent. Why be bitter about it?
@gdiwolverinemale4thАй бұрын
You're supposed to be able to have a husband bring you, the mother the resources to give birth and raise your child. We have always been able to do this until the petrol dollar was invented and bankers realized they would need more workers or the system would crash too soon. One parent gets the resources and contributes to society. The other parent raises the child and contributes to your family. Corporations have demanded that both parents be tapped for work and our children have suffered dearly for it. In Ireland it's actually in their constitution that should this ever happen they have a right to dissolve the gov and start over(should a mother ever be forced to work in order to raise her child as this is the entire point of society, we know we can make a society where only one parent needs to work and so any society where 2 must is a failure and they KNEW THIS). I don't think they enforce it or they just give welfare checks to them. Regardless, only serfs and indentured servants were made to have mothers work. We have been enslaved and told it was empowering.
@AnglophobiaIsevil7Ай бұрын
At least you are an independent, strong empowered wahman❤
@lovepeoplehu9883Ай бұрын
I thought scientists were infallible? Sounds like we've been sold another lie by the atheists.
@SchalaZeal1Ай бұрын
Dear Dr. Hossenfelder, dear Sabine, I am a marine biologist from The Netherlands and active in academia. You echoed all my frustrations about our world. Thank you for speaking your mind ❤. I too challenge my peers by asking whether they really think they're going to change the world or simply keeping themselves in business. The result: denial, or better termed cognitive dissonance. I too dream of a youtube career, but I suck at it 😅. Best of luck to you, Sabine, and thank you for your wonderful videos.
@TimsWildlifeАй бұрын
You do know people can tell when you are BSing right. Nobody goes into marine biology thinking they will "change the world".
@paintspot1509Ай бұрын
fake it till you make it, and don't count on youtube, post on 4 or 5 different platforms, facebook, odysee, rumble, tiktok, maybe discord, etc.
@severpop8699Ай бұрын
What do you do as a marine biologist?
@zet0korpАй бұрын
@@zet0korp don't believe everything you read in KZhead comments.
@paintspot1509Ай бұрын
Change the world? You’re one of those scientists. Im glad they ignore you. Wait for the next Era, the world would have changed.
@shadowmoon1657Ай бұрын
Just wanted to say posting this video was the right thing to do. Thanks for sharing something so personal but so relevant in today’s discussion about academia.
@shininio16 күн бұрын
From a former aspiring astronomer I also felt like my dream died when I couldn’t get into academia. But that’s life and thank you for sharing! You made me feel better with my current situation knowing how honest you are. I respect that a lot. I do enjoy your videos because they allow me to think differently from all these other science videos that all almost all the same.
@ernestoespinoza928 күн бұрын
Like you, I wanted to become an astronomer. It was my mom who convinced me that it wasn't a practical field for most, particularly a woman. I studied udied computers and database design instead and never regretted it. Astronomy can be a hobby.
@lauracorriss95386 күн бұрын
FWIW Sabine: I decided to be a medical doctor at the age of four. Spent my life in the pursuit of that dream, qualified, and all of my adult life has been dedicated to that calling - I've been pretty bloody good at it. But here's the rub - I hated every minute here in the UK, it's been that horrible. In my mid 50's I 'stressed out', I'm now at a complete loss and thoroughly regret all those lost years. If it helps you are not alone. Better yet, you've found something genuinely worthwhile to do that doesn't render what you did before wasted effort.
@charlesjmouseАй бұрын
Ironically, my US doctor got tired of the paperwork and insurance controls on medicine, quit his practice and went into medical research at NIH.
@TheSuzberryАй бұрын
We the patients are grateful for your service even if the govt isn't......
@junglieАй бұрын
What you said reminded me, a veteran in the USA, of a visit to a doctor at the VA. He said to me . . . "You know why I came to work for the VA?" Then he said "Because at the VA, it is not like being a normal civilian doctor, because of the constant pressure to make profits." That told me all I needed to know about seeing any doctors outside of the VA here in the USA.
@shawnirwin6633Ай бұрын
Sabine- nice to know I’m not alone. Same thing happened to me in a different discipline. But when the PhD work made me disillusioned I pivoted to MD. Now, at the end of my career doing work that I’ve loved, the corporate sharks have taken over (in the US) and I’m getting out. So Charles, I can sympathize brother. It seems the common thread is the drive for money. As much as I loathed the hold religion had on our world in the past, at least it acknowledged mammon as bad. Maybe our kids can get it right because our generation has sure made a mess of things.
@mangodoc10Ай бұрын
@@mangodoc10 It's "love of mammon". Yeah, there is wisdom in those pages, but you've got to winnow.
@SBCBearsАй бұрын
Hi Sabine. My name is Mihai, i am an archaeologist with close to two decades in the industry. Tonight, I had a few pints with a friend of mine and we where talking about the same sh1tshow in our industry, academic and commercial. Your channel is a breath of fresh air and a good place to learn. Thank you for your time and effort and for this video, particularly.
@flyingfox707bАй бұрын
what area of archaeology?
@curiousbystander9193Ай бұрын
... that's why I am unemployed and enjoy my life and time by learning what I want, doing recreational sports, taking strolls in the park, watching documentaries and gaming. Everything government tries to get me into work will only lead to the government paying three times more for me than it does now. I am definitely not prostituting myself in fake,-science and fake-research. To you I wish the best - and to enjoy yourself as much or even more as I do in my position. I did not choose it but rather got shifted into it...but AI adapted and now like it very much... especially because now I know what I avoided without even knowing it back then.
@chillfluencerАй бұрын
@@curiousbystander9193several areas of interest, but I work mainly in commercial archaeology and planning.
@flyingfox707bАй бұрын
@@chillfluencerthere's a bit of a difference between me, who works for a living and pays taxes and, if you live off of government assistance, meant to be a support for people who NEED OT FOR WHATEVER REASON, you... If you live of of your personal savings, I can't tell you how to live your life and spend your money. If you are on the public support, get off your effing ass and get a job, you prick.
@flyingfox707bАй бұрын
Beautiful! You nailed it! I just subscribed! Looking forward to hearing more about what you are passionate about! Bless you!
@ralphstarling67078 күн бұрын
I think you're great for telling it like it is! I'm no scientist but I do love learning and you make it easier to understand certain things that are more complicated. Thank you!
@mariskaharris17123 күн бұрын
I agree with you entirely. I walked away from this weird world of writing papers in 1971, utterly deceived by the rat race of the conflict between publishing and keeping things secret to prevent someone else publishing before you. Expanding human knowledge was not the priority - it was just an immoral competition for grant money.
@ianburton9223Ай бұрын
And that was in 1971? Already?
@frankfahrenheit9537Ай бұрын
@@frankfahrenheit9537 This hit! 1971!
@teyemanon1970Ай бұрын
You did academia in US? Germany imported this system somewhen in the 90".
@ich3601Ай бұрын
@@ich3601 I was in the UK in 1971.
@ianburton9223Ай бұрын
Read a biography of Sir Richard Francis Burton.
@wadehines9971Ай бұрын
Thank you for your work on KZhead. You touch millions of people, some of which will become the next Einstein thanks to you. I'm excited every day about your next video.
@alex49Ай бұрын
As an unemployed former multiple postdoc, I feel her pain. This emotional and actual support here above is epic. I wish I too could give such financial gift. The honesty in the video was refreshing, the absurdity of academia failed her, not the other way around. It’s bull****
@sjl197Ай бұрын
@@Elo-hv3fw Just like He Who Shall Not be Named made Harry Potter.
@markandbeckАй бұрын
Unfortunately Albert was a HUGE HUGE fraud. Weird so many bright people are unable to grasp that. Read Phyllis Schlafly's book.
@elbuggoАй бұрын
@@Elo-hv3fw Yeah, that guy.
@davidg4288Ай бұрын
We're glad you found us, Sabine 😊. Long may you reign🎉🎉🎉.
@luke90333 күн бұрын
It would have been such a shame, had you not posted this video. I think your experience needed to be told and you're such a refreshing voice to listen to. Everything happens for a reason and I feel you are making the right impact. I stumbled upon your video by chance but it immediately made me want to subscribe to your channel.
@michalpaucula769415 күн бұрын
A video that ends with I’m not sure I will post this, is the one that needs to be posted. And we the internet are glad you did! Go Sabine!
@aronradАй бұрын
✅🙏🏻
@hittitecharioteerАй бұрын
Well, given the censorship and meting out of punishments, even by governments, for "saying the wrong things" online, which she may be aware of, I get the concern she has, but my guess is that this discussion would not get her in trouble. It doesn't directly prod any politically protected sacred cows (not yet, anyway).
@mmille10Ай бұрын
Yes.
@krishnaparthaАй бұрын
Amen!
@user-lz6dm5lk9yАй бұрын
I am glad this was not another unfinished symphony.
@umitertin4932Ай бұрын
The ghastly level of replicability of published scientific work tells me you're right.
@jguenther3049Ай бұрын
It truly is ghastly, though I've spent a horrific amount of time reading through epidemiological studies in food and health science so I'm a bit biased. Sometimes the most basic critical thinking can rule out the conclusions of well-cited research papers, but it gets published anyway because you don't get that sweet sweet grant money otherwise, and nobody actually cares anyway. They're just people with jobs who are afraid to lose their jobs.
@grawssАй бұрын
replicability, and reproducibility!
@joostvhtsАй бұрын
Biological sciences have their own problems (the reproducibility crisis), but it's a bit different from physics.
@yomin2162Ай бұрын
@@yomin2162 ecology trying to hide
@EricManzaneАй бұрын
Exactly! Without replication and falsifiability, there is no science going on. Our modern knowledge is 95% shifting sand.
@Theo-oh3jkАй бұрын
100% correct. You are not alone. It is the same story everywhere.
@YERAFirearms3 күн бұрын
i salute you for calling out the bullshit for what it is in no uncertain terms, and i thank you for the honest exploration and sharing of information you now engage in ... what science *should* be.
After finishing my PhD I went to a university-led session on ‘What Comes Next.’ What I heard sounded a lot like “now, you beg for money.” It was so depressing to think about all the very clever people in that room who had worked so very hard only to find out they had no financial security and would be spending most of their days asking for money. I realized that even what I thought of as the ‘safe path’ was uncertain so I may as well go after what I truly want. That led me here.
This. This I had to see for myself - the money begging approach, the insecure job of 2 or 3 years and then beg for more. I was disheartened with this also. Having a family and the need to be secure, I took my PhD into industry rather than academia. Unfortunately, I didn’t get paid for that extra achievement and feel like I’ve never fully reached my potential. All because I couldn’t get the proper assurance behind the question of, ‘and then what?’. However, getting a PhD is enjoyable and certainly fulfilling. But be prepared to do something different afterwards.
Couldn’t agree more here. I feel somewhat fortunate to have shifted my perspective in pursuing my physics PhD program as a time to learn, have fun, and then move to industry. It’s rather disheartening watching hardworking people pursue the academic dream, while making all kind of sacrifices (both personal and those related to academic politics), just to aim for a position that may or may not work out.
Find a job in applying your knowledge.
I just finished middle school and wanted to be a physicist, now I'm rethinking my dreams
Your willingness to call 'bullshit' by its name is one of the reasons I watch your channel. Hats off, carry on!
Its a good way to make money.
@@paintspot1509 it's an excellent way to be truthful..
Agree. My PhD was made that much harder by the need to sift thru 100’s of bullshit papers (pointless, poor quality and written simply to fish for citations) that Sabine calling it, is very satisfying!
This
@@enemdisk6628 BS is a name. Welcome to am. Engl
No, Sabine, you have not failed, its the system that have failed you.
Unfortunately it's still people that suffer, not the system.
My psycology therapist would say otherwise. Its not the worl that must change for you. I know, a partial minded view but most people would support that claim.
@@AtrozGrima its the easiest to always blame yourself even though you met all the criteria required to not fail, but this claim fails the logic test, so there must be an outside factor that intervened and sabotaged you, and in Sabine's case it's the system. how come a post grad in physics cant find a job in research?? sounds ridiculous to say its her fault after she did everything the system demanded.
Capitalism wasn't good as she thought
@@AtrozGrima Psychologists have no clue how society works, they are always focused on the individual, and dont bother with anything else. They arent smart people, they act smart but know almost nothing. It is bitter, sad, but true.
I'm going to send this video when asked why I dropped my PhD. So real, I'm glad I did that sooner.
The real tragedy is that you almost didn't post this video. People NEED to know what kind of world we live in. This was more valuable than 99% of commencement speeches.
I gave up physics to become an electrician. ZERO REGRETS. 👍
This has always bothered me when I heard about people with masters degree doing work vastly different from what they worked so hard for and I was left wondering most of the time, how is this happening. This was very illuminating and I'm seething.
@@skippy6086 I need an electrician frequently which is why I became one too. I have never needed a physicist and one reason I opted not to study it in college despite it being fascinating.
No offense, but she did a video on why capitalism is awesome not long ago. Many of us have been saying this for years. This is not news to LOTS of people.
agreed
Hearing your story reminded me of that Franz Kafka quote: “I was ashamed of myself when I realized that life was a costume party, and I attended with my real face.” I am glad you stood your ground after all. We need more people like you, and not just in Academia.
Excellent quote.
At the Time of Franz Kafka There were yet no socialist Euroland countries promoting some bulshit agenda , but it was starting at that time. Global democracy is a scam.
Except that anyone with integrity leaves academia because it is a rotten swamp in which only shrewed and greedy people thrive... The higher up you get in the organization, the less integrity they have. Especially in the highly prestigious institutions. The corruption and self-interest is rife and little to no meaningful science is done anymore, so anyone with integrity leaves. Scientific discovery has almost completed stopped in regards to large discoveries because research there isn't profitable...
There's no good reason to wear a mask and lose your integrity. You can use your actual self, you just need to know your boundaries and have actual confidence.
Any business or undertaking these days is a emotional marathon, and anyone who puts their real self on the starting line will lose the emotionally draining commitment. Kinda the whole reason emotionally dettached people are more successful and why it seems like no one cares in business meetings.
Also a physics PhD. Fighting for funding and fighting against petty administrators pushed me out of experimental condensed matter physics. Now I'm a high school teacher. I applied to corporate jobs but when you are so specialized and the job market is up and down it is really difficult finding work anywhere in the world. I had trouble fitting into the machinery.
A place where I worked, 3 of the software developers had Physics PhDs. Only so many places for them in research really when you think about it.
Somewhere theres a kid that is so glad you are his teacher. Somewhere theres a kid who recalls your teaching and recognizes your efforts. Somewhere theres a community that is glad you are part of it. Add infinitum.
The education system is an indoctrination camp meant to turn all who attend into wage/salary slaves serving and making the big dollars for the powerful elite.
Were you also told getting your undergrad "oh you can do anything with a degree in physics?" That's the line they sold me on. No way I'm teaching HS with the way schools are. Hats off to you.
@@FallNorth Physicists have data. There were supposed to be a lot of jobs in the last 10-15 years in physics. There haven't been and we have the data as to why. Boomers mostly decided not to retire around 2008 when the crash happened. They've been staying in their jobs.
I'm a PhD, and have a very similar understanding of modern academia. It is great that you have posted this video. Thank you
As a grad student, I had a professor plagiarize an entire term paper of mine which he used as a chapter in his book. My complaint to him and the department fell on deaf ears. I was told that my worked belonged to the professor because all grad work belonged to the professor who taught me. What a bunch of garbage.
Holy Sh!t… does this mean that plagiarism is a feature and not a bug of the academic landscape?!?!🤬😳
Did you get any credit/mention in References as a contributing graduate student?
That's absolutely crazy! Surely that would be illegal??
My University (as most in America) expels fraudulent plagiarists, but I've never heard of professors being fired for the same reason. Do you have a link to your original publication online for us to compare his book to?
@@freshmanenglishhelp None at all
"He got angry, and I laughed at him..." I love it.
❤
My respect for you hit a new high when I heard you say that!
My admiration for Sabine shot up 10-fold when she said that (and it was already very high)! I wish more people had her guts.
Probably the most german part of this video. Loved it.
Literally iconic
I'm very glad you did post this video. As a disillusioned postdoc stuck in an endless loop of writing hollow research papers to get grants that retread work already done decades earlier (with a fresh coat of the latest buzzword added); all the while trying to make ends meet on a salary you wouldn't need to go to school for in the first place, with no job security and my mental health destroyed; I feel happy to know there are ways out of this wretched system. You're not alone in feeling like you never fit in - a lot of us feel like our dreams are dead.
"The bureaucracy must expand to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy."
Yep, also sounds very german to me.
Its not just bureaucracy, it is the entire monetary system. It has failed us, but we wont see it. So we continue the absurdity, at the cost of both human lives, as well as overall mental health and well-being.
@@morpheas768 - it's costing the planet more, which will have the last laugh ultimately...
@@morpheas768 The current monetary system is successful: It is doing what it is supposed to do, and with great efficiency. What it is supposed to do, however, is transfer wealth from the masses to billionaires.
That sweet spot when bureaucracy becomes a Ponzi scheme.
Thank you for sharing Sabine, we love you!
Yeah!! we do! ;))
My thoughts exactly!!
Me too ❤
Thank you Sabine! You are a great educator and human being.
I want to push back that it's not token capitualation that results in the glass ceiling for women. And programs that require diversity and representation do not reenforce outdated world views, but I respect feeling frustrated that they are not a comprohensive solution either. I refuse to take away the victories of civil rights champions of the past that forced the hand for those capitulations, even if there is still more work left to do.
Dear Sabine, No, you have not failed. That you're not doing the "bs" scientific works doesn't mean that your dream of becoming a scientist failed. You're one of the best scientific minds, and your contribution to the field shouldn't be underestimated. You succeeded. Your dream is being materialized in a bit unique but beautiful way.
Thanks for the kind words, really appreciate that. It makes it all worthwhile. ❤️
Yes Sabine, please keep challenging the status quo and hopefully we will return to caring about true scientific inquiry and not how to milk grant money to stuff institution's pockets.
I hope you’re making some of them youtube bucks at least Sabine. Keep em coming.
@@SabineHossenfelderit sounds to me that the academics failed you
the greedy swines get their claws into everything, they don't care about what goes on, they are just there for the $$$. And as usual, literally everything and everyone else suffers.
I love your no-BS approach, your directness, and your intrinsic honesty. Keep doing what you're doing, you are clearly very good at it and it's highly appreciated by a lot of people in here. 💪
It's remarkable how similar the stories from academia are from people that are willing to talk about it openly.
My jaw dropped. That was a very powerful testimony.
Hahaha we exist 😂😂😂 .....
@@user-ec3rm9wr1nwho?
No real news though.. Its how it works
@@andersfant4997 this may be obvious to insiders. But it was news to me
@@andersfant4997 if you were trans and rich and your father is billionaire things would be different
That's exactly why I never went back to academia after my master's. It was all about what to do to get that extra grant. Everyone (including myself) was writing bullshit to get grants. I used to want to become a scientist since I was a child. The reality killed that dream for me too... I totally get it.
Same here. Publishing has so much metagaming, that it's not producing good work. My thesis adviser told me to split my paper up into 3-5 papers, publish them separately and have them all cite each other to inflate my impact numbers. I knew academia was bullshit as soon as that was suggested.
You did the right thing.
The institutions are failing, and in order to save the scientific knowledge to go down with it, we need people teaching straight to the public, and not only the raw science, but all the epistemological nuances around it. You are a brave and inspiring person! Thanks ❤
When the questions you want to find answers to (buy doing science) collide with "will said answers make line go up?" Will your quest to unlock the mysteries of the universe be profitable? Isn't as much "reality" as it is "Capitalism". You, as an individual, might have as much luck changing the laws of physics as you would changing the effects that Capitalism (specifically the profit motive) has on doing science.🤷♂️
But what's the alternative that already exists? Universities have huge issues but they still do focus on topics you'd never see a fully commercialized industry indulge. It is an evil but a lesser evil. What else is there?
From the obituary of Peter Higgs, Daily Telegraph, April 9, 2024 Higgs formally retired in 1996, having long complained that the university [Edinburgh] only kept him on just in case his work won a Nobel Prize. He was horrified when in 2017 the university named the Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics in his honour, insisting that in today’s climate he would be unemployable in academia. “I don’t think I would be regarded as productive enough,” he said, pointing out that the entire output of his career amounted to barely a dozen published papers. “A message would go round the department, ‘Please give a list of your recent publications’. And I would send back a statement, ‘None’,” he said.
Thank you for being on You Tube!! We need your thoughtful takes on all of the subjects you share with us!❤
A bit too much? Perhaps the best video of the year. Thank you for being you, Sabine. - Sacramento, USA
Best video in the channel, IMO.
Bringing the issues to light is one small step towards the possibility of changing them in the future.
She has been promoting this channel for years dont listen to the narrative she is pushing. She has been ALL about being a youtuber for years now for sure her work has dropped off look at the amount of time she puts in this channel!
you sweet summer child@@eclectictech
A bit too much? this is the worst example of a video this year. Sabine has been pushing this channel at the expense if actual research for years now any science realeated issue on this channel is fraught with innaccurate information and borderline lies.
"The moment you put people into big institutions, the goal shifts from knowledge discovery to money-making" is the key quote of this video.
No, the goal shifts to "sustain the institution (aka bureaucracy)".
@@Frank-ej8hd which mostly involves making money to be fair
Uh Sabine, pensions and health benefits, are very important to "normal" American working ppl too. 😂
I disagree, everything on earth is about making money in some form, so this statement is quite anodyne. There is something else going on in academia besides greed - proof is that everyone who works there is poor.
- Sabine "Capitalism is good, actually" Hossenfelder. One more example of why natural scientists would be well served to occasionally listen to a social scientist.
Thank you for your honesty and pulling the curtain back on the very flawed instutions of academia. I would also like to express my graditude and appreciation for your being her on KZhead. I've learned so much for you and look forward to learning more!
You didn't fail, Sabine. A corrupt system failed you. So happy to see you have reinvented yourself and found peace and a sense of fair exchange. You inspire me to keep trying to find a better future.
I am a professor but totally understand the terrible rat race. i was once writing an academic book (rather well known one now) but my HoD knocked on my office door one day and told me that the university didn't value scholarship any more. i retired as soon as was financially able to, and moved to Thailand. never been back. Take care, Donald
thailand? is that not a dangerousplaceto be for a white man?
Sawasdi kap. You and Sab have stumbled into the invisible walls of a technological house of cards. Science is supposed to be a process of discovery where we chose the most accurate way to describe observations, but that depends on who “we” are. We are not what you think we are. We are more like the subjects of the virtual world in the Matrix. Controlled with lies and a brilliant characterization of the world, however, it is built essentially on lies. We struggle not against the flesh, but against spiritual principalities in heaven and hell. It’s all about control, this world. God is. Choke di, farang.
RE: the university didn't value scholarship any more I guess they are looking for foundations for their latest propaganda projects. Research is subordinate to policy. Findings that are contrary to their policies, or their imagined ideal world, is not appreciated.
@@elbuggo _"101% of sociologists confirm that their research proves that climate-change is 102% manmade."_
@@ibubezi7685 I always get a kick out of people who loudly proclaim "all the scientists agree on climate change", as if science was a democracy and the facts should actually care what scientists think.
My dad was a scientist, and I watched his constant struggle with politics and funding. He had a stress-related heart attack at 50; he survived it, but was never the same afterwards.
it's sad that happened to your dad
“Was”, did he retire or quit? And I’m sorry your dad was out through that kind of stress..
That is so sad! Im so sorry for your dad
@@margarethamaartje3716 perhaps he died.
I'm sorry for your dad! Hope his heart recovering and he takes care of himself better. Nothing is more precious than our health, not even our job or idealism.
Thank you for sharing your story Sabine. My wife is going to her first post-doc and you've given me a lot to think about. Also, props on the "In the Pale Moonlight" ending :)
You are absolutely right about everything! It will take many years for me to recover from the emotional damage that I sustained from my later years as an academic! Thanks so much for sharing this!
"I am failed", something we rarely hear on social media, while everyone tells success stories here. Bold statement
Hi failed, I'm dad
@@gregh5061 Hi dad and failed, I'm Sigma DeLigma
failed is a bold statement indeed given she has a phd and raised two children
@@aliceglass828 people have different standards for success I suppose. You could have two noble prizes but if your goal was to cure cancer and you failed, you'd consider yourself a failure, I guess.
@@gregh5061 no shit sherlock
As a scientist struggling with the broken academic science system, I resonate with all that she said and it's totally spot on
Start with some real science and you will NO LONGER STRUGGLE: Vacuum Ambient EM Field Dipole Theory aka Quantum Inertial Dipole Theory aka Graviton Theory aka Dark Mass / Energy Theory aka Vacuum Zero Point Energy Theory aka PLANCK PARTICLE THEORY is T.O.E. postulated by the Germans and brought to fruition by US DoD via Defense Contractors like Lockheed that solved TOE so the Pentagon gave them cart blanche on CASH to designed and build working Quantum Field Densification Drives aka HFGWGs and they solved during technical material science issues during SDI STAR WARS Weapons Programs of the 1980s and 90s and the result is "UAPs" aka Hypersonic Weapons in the news for years! Work EM FIELD DRIVES have been flying for MORE THAN 4 DECADES! Now You Know Too! #FiringRoom1
When I was a grad student, I saw how the brilliant, wonderful postdocs were worn down. Not by their bosses or their science, but by the system. And after 4+ years as postdocs, they were still earning less than brand new public school teachers. We love our science but have to make a living, too.
It’s the same for public school teachers - the system burns a human out.
@@casualnerdjason6678 You have the background for understanding physics now you need to take your knowledge to the edgy side of physics that is making great strides in understanding the workings of our reality. Materialism is as dead as the Big Bang is now. The new frontier is of a Conscious Universe where observation collapses the wave function into particles and atoms which creates matter as we have seen over and over again in the double slit experiments. Good luck on your journey. Remember it is always better to abandon a sinking ship early rather than later.
Its also my story!
It takes so much courage to be this honest. Thank you! This is exactly the type of communication we need. So happy you shared this.
You want real heartfelt testimony, just ask any immigrants crossing the border.
Thank you for sharing your story. It brought tears to my eyes. I have personally witnessed the same. You're making a greater impact than the paper factories now!
"The moment you put people into big institutions the goal shifts from knowledge seeking to money making." Very well said.
What is the background of the university president? Is it Philosophy or Education-focused? Or is it Business-centered?
@@LA_HA It might not matter. It might be comparative literature. The system is so entrenched. The one university president and his/her pet projects may have only slight impact on what is expected and what gets done.
@@wendyleeconnelly2939 True and that's what I'm saying. The choices given in the type of candidates has a lot to say about what is going on within that institution. This is directly tied to what's happening in the PS/K-12 school system. What's happening there? In short, traditional values and education have been replaced with "progressive" values and disinterest in educating school children due to CRT and leftist ideological organizations that openly brag about how they're not in the education business anymore. They're in the political business now and going forward. This is Taught to students, who then go to college, graduate with this mentality and belief system, and then become college employees and professors. The connection is there for anyone who takes a moment to look. Except there's a problem... Thinking isn't taught. In fact, it's banned
@@LA_HAwrong, for instance CRT is a college course. Next progressive values I guess by that you mean critical thinking skills and a focus on S.T.E.M. It’s funny because traditional values and education immediately brings to mind religious schools where if the science doesn’t fit your 1500 year old horror anthology than the science must be wrong. Also what do you mean by traditional education , the humors, leach therapy, miasma, aroma therapy, chiropractors , or maybe phrenology. I am however sorry that conservatives long ago lost in the market place of ideas I just wish you guys would stop trying to sell people on your SECOND lost cause movement. We are not going to go back in time there is a reason progress is the root word of progressive. This time of traditional thinking wasn’t so great by the way most people call it the dark ages where positing a new theory might get you thrown in ye olde gaol maybe just for suggesting a non heliocentric view of the universe.
@@geneduffy [Edited for clarity] Thank you. I'm so glad you did exactly what you did. Otherwise, I would have wasted my time thinking an actual conversation was possible. Good Day
Hi Sabine, I’m a third year PhD student in bioengineering and I just want to say thanks for making this video. You’re the only person who I’ve heard describe exactly how I feel about academia. My dream has died too and most of the time I feel crazy because no one else seems to feel the same way, but thank you for making me feel less alone. You are brave and lovable ❤️
Same, while it sucks I hope you also value that you figured it out early in your academic career and not a decade and a half later….
damn I'm just about to go into bioengineering😭
All this makes me happy that I'm "just" a practical nurse (as we call it here in Finland) and never had the drive for academy studies. I'm in a job that I really like and enjoy, even tho money ain't great, no stress etc at all tho :)
@@ramseygo121 it's fine, but do it for industry, not academia.
I'm in my second year of an evolution/genetics PhD. My lab group and the biology faculty is pretty communal and this sentiment of cynicism is common around us. We're kind of aware this is all one big passion project, and some of us might become rockstars but others are like those Disney channel celebrities who disappear after 5 years and show up working at a small town car dealership. Not sure if anyone's actually considering continuing in academia. A lot are looking at industry or government employment (our department is marine and conservation biology, in a country where seafood and agriculture are major exports).
No, I don't think your video was "too much", but rather was completely on point--and appreciated.
Hi, Sabine - I have had a different experience of academia, maybe partly because I've been a Prof at a smaller university where there is much less emphasis on grinding out papers and much more emphasis on sharing information with curious young minds. I'd like to make two points: 1) I admire you for telling your very personal story to your audience, and 2) although what you are doing now was not your original dream, I think it is in fact HUGELY IMPORTANT and that you have found your true calling in being such an effective educator on the Internet. As you stated, information is expanding so quickly that it is growing beyond our means and our time to learn it all. What we need more than people writing more papers is people explaining what all this information means in understandable terms. You are VERY good at this! So keep your chin up and keep doing what you are doing. You are providing an extremely valuable service!
I just loved it when you said NO to work for that professor, THATS what I call true integrity 🤩
Yeah big balls for that, props.
@@Broken_robot1986 yes, pukaaluwo
Science is Dead, only China and Russia care about it.
that was definitely baller. absolutely nothing unreasonable either.
With 1.2M subscribers you have a real job! A real role, a real voice to teach what ever you want to teach! Genius!
Yep. The funny thing is, she has more subscribers & viewers than most TV shows. Highly successful.
That’s certainly more attention than papers get
Until, of course, KZhead shuts her channel down for some obscure reason.
@CrimeaRiver But people have heard of her now.
Yes her brand imagine is valuable, once you get to her level on KZhead, type of content ,influence tv networks come chasing you.
Someone finally has the courage to say "The emperor has no clothes"
What incredible honesty, a trait sorely lacking in today’s world. Thank you for posting the video. We all need a “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” moment in our lives and you gave us yours. Fabulous! Oh, and I did subscribe!
Got fired from a job you didn’t have! What a world we live in!
I’ve had a rejection letter for a position I never applied for. I wish now that I’d kept it.
Now THAT'S a badge of honor to wear proudly! And so is your astuteness in pointing it out. 😊
@@suestreet9934 -I got an approval for a gambling licence I didn't apply for - lol...
Power-tripping is extremely common in academia.
Should have reported to him to hr and have him dismissed.
This matches up exactly with my 16 years at NASA. A colleague of mine called it "playing the doctor game", because all the PhD's were battling each other for the few secure jobs while the majority languished as grantees.
"Science" (Which means "through the knowledge of")...literally means being open to truth, wanting to explore the actual truth and to want to know the truth.
The other one, opposite one (cannot name the term because of the censor), is the desire for money, grants, more grants, desiring to promote a problem rather than a solution to keep a job, propagating biases and being afraid to look in another direction out of fear of being chastised and reprimanded.
You sound like you were a contractor instead of a government employee. Why didn't you hire on with the Federal Government?
She got what she gave out to Kaku and others in his field daring to tell them that they were wasting resources that should go to real fields of study.
This is precisely how The $ystem weeds out scientists w/ character standing on principle vs. those who'll readily sell out (i.e. produce & publish the results The $ystem wants). 😉
No, it's not too much. Thanks for sharing your story. It is brutally honest, and puts my mind at ease a bit. I also have left Academia, for some of the reasons you mentioned.
Thank you for posting this video!! I have a physics undergrad degree but sensed these issues you bring up, though I am not female. So I changed to computer science and worked as an engineer. Now I am very happy to watch your content and continue learning (about!) the things that I truly love. Thank you for your work.
Not too much, it is just right and honest. Don’t ever change!
Thank you from the entire team!
Well done you.
Given the system appears to be so broken, and given it’s the people’s money at work, what could the people do to demand change? Does this have to stay broken forever?
@@berniehaberemeier2053 -- Excellent questions! To which I humbly add one more: Is the academic establishment even worth trying to fix, or do we need to replace it with something better?
@@berniehaberemeier2053spreading awareness helps. (Knowing is half the battle) But I've seen various proposals that would change the incentive structure to support good science; rather than Shitposting in scientific journals for grants. As for how to get people to adopt these new incentives? I think things will have to get worse before they get better. People are going to keep doing things just the way they are until they can't anymore.
I'm a PhD. physicist who never really had any hope of a career in academia. I really appreciate your honesty and telling it like it is. I have always found academia to be pretentious, arrogant, and intellectually stuffy. Thank you for making this video. You've earned my respect.
And you’re a man?!?
So, what do you do?
Only academics use words like "intellectually stuffy" hahaha
Hopefully you didn't get a job as a "Calibration Technician" for a company that does NIST certification of equipment. So many physics majors with BS degrees seem to enter that job market.
I was a PhD student, but I only finished with my masters. This was due to the lack of consistency between classes and the PhD exam. They would put problems on there that even the professors could not solve. They had an extra credit point system to wear a few published papers prior to the exam, you would be given credit towards the exam. There was at least one student who never took the exam and passed because they had enough papers within two years. and this is only because the professor was putting that graduate students name on the papers, even though they just started.
Thank you posting such a heart-felt appraisal of your experiences in academia. I can relate to much of what you described in your early career as a graduate student. It would have been a tragedy to have not posted this video.
What an amazing story. I feel exactly the same way. Being a content creator sounds way better than being in academia.
Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy: In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely.
In isolated islands, visionaries who understand this law gain power and work hard against it. But it's a Sisyphean task.
Witness the ratio of administrators to teachers in the California State University system. 18 to 1 in against the instructors!
@@wallacegrommet9343 That's a bit deceptive. Some of those administrators support instruction. Some support research grants. Sabina isn't complaining about research load as much as research priorities.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Brave people such as yourself need to be honest about the state of physics and academia in order for it to change.
Nice quote, I did not know this. To be fair, in my experience academic management did care about science, in so far as it relates to their own interests at least. Since the issues in academia (and academic publishing) go beyond each individual institution, however, I suppose it's easy to assign blame elsewhere and perpetuate the system rather than even try to change it. This perpetuation is, incidentally of course, also to the personal benefit of academic management.
Thank you for posting this! I am 82, left the US for Germany in 1965, earned my PhD with work at a Max Planck Institute and after a 12 year stint at the MPI I got a pure research position at a major German university. I was an electron microscopist, so a lot of people needed my help. I managed to publish 100+ papers and never had to write a grant proposal. I finally became disillusioned with science in general and just wound up helping others with their research. I also struggled to help my female coworkers get the credit they deserved for the work they did. Science was always more of a hobby for me. I write this just to say, your mileage may vary. I'm sorry you had such a bitter experience, but you have taken the bull by the horns and certainly have a greater scientific impact now than if you had just gone on in research. I love your videos and your sense of humour. Liebe Grüße aus dem kühlen hessischen Vogelsberg.
I believe I had the pleasure of reading one of your papers. Good to see people of science remain around it, even when retired. All the best to you good sir!
@@MrQwertyman111 Thanks kindly.
Today I've discovered a hero that I didn't know I had! Thanks Sabine.
You don't owe us an explanation, and we are glad you are here.
And it's the story of a successful science educator who touched millions and made the world a slightly better place. Thank you, Sabine.
Unfortunately, this IS a universal story in academia. It's the dirty little secret that never seems to be talked about. Despite all that, I'm glad you have found a place for yourself and choose to share your thoughts and opinions with us all. Thank you for putting this video out!
It is spoken about, but those outside the system .. do not get heard. Listen carefully to what she says. While a bit harsh to say, she *did* know what they were doing was wrong, and she played along with it, until they bit her.
Fenomenal true exposed. Dear Sabine you are so great, worry do not, you have imense quality and you are an exceptional person. The reward will come and one day you will be happy with the output, I am sure you are happy with what you are doing now and be pleased cause it is giving you satisfaction, you do very nice, it is another road in your career. One foot on the back one step ahead. Many people know your works and they follow your career and path and they like you the way you are.
It's not really a dirty little secret. There are lots of ways to observe it, even as an undergrad if you work in someone's lab, some people who will confess especially if you ask the right questions, maybe not in physics departments because physicists have that personality. Sabine came from a family of accountants, they had some idea that money makes the world go round. Although the exact nature of academic research is something you have to experience it to understand. An outsider who doesn't know the field at an expert level won't know how much garbage is produced that serves merely to clog up the intellectual pipeline.
@@ronankelly4471 I don't know if I can blame Sabine though, she is but a human like us, and human need food on the table, especially for their family. I would like to imagine Scientist are just normal people who aren't particularly noble, nor should we expect them to be.
You know what the scientific community needs? MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU! Thank you for your honesty and integrity.👏👏👏💖
As an ex-researcher for a German uni institute, your description of how the system works was spot on.
I achieved my PhD in philosophy when I was in my 40s. I'm an ex miner. After graduation, I became a security guard until retirement. My PhD was a classy route to poverty. So I'm glad you posted this. Dr. does look good on my drivers licence.😅
I appreciate "my PhD was a classy route to poverty". It's the case for so many.
The wife of the US president is also a Doctor. She's a school teacher with a doctorate in education and demands that people refer to her as "Doctor". The title is meaningless.
Why didn't you become a university prof?
What a coincidence, I'm also an ex-minor
@@garydorfner6695 Not really meaningless. She just isn't a doctor in the common sense.
You have not failed, "The System" is failing us all. Thank you Sabine for trying to broaden our horizons. Hopefully this brave outreach will start some meaningful conversation.
The sad part is that "the system" is made up of us, the academic people. We prioritize money, greed, and power, and in turn, make the life of other lower-level people miserable. Then, we blame "the system".
Same with NGO's honestly. A lot of people, social sciences degrees and similar stuff, who are so passionate to work with communities, with underpriviliged people, to try to approach existing issues with new techniques, are absolutely annihilated by the grant-money procedure. Just write billions of pages of bullshit, measure absolute irrelevant stats, write mind-numbing reports, and end up wasting 75% of your energy and time on all of this, and only 25% actually doing what you want to do and are actually applying for funding.
The really important part is that forum cretins will keep parroting "Peer reviews!" when such "trusted" institutions don't even have the minimal digital literacy, and I mean Harvards, too. Total rebuilding of scholarship is inevitable.
Go for a PhD in "The Art of Sustainable Bullshit" and you will be a winner.
The sad part is that the system is made up of us, the academic people; we prioritize money, greed, and power, and in turn, make the life of other lower-level people miserable. Then, we blame the system.
Thank you for your post. I am also a pHD physicist, class of 1975. I also did well in school but somehow I saw that the academic route was too risky. I went into industry and found a stable career path. The best thing I did was raise two wonderful daughters. I once worked with a Danish machinist who told me, “Girls are the best. They never get too old to give you a little kiss on the cheek.” I hope you have a family like that.
I have loved your absolute candor and conviction since I started reading your articles while you were at the Perimeter Institute. I too have had a similar academic journey as yours. My dream died too and I am glad that it did because I was miserable by the time I finished my two postdocs. I had to evolve and adapt, and now I am happy where I am. I thank you for sharing your experience and continuing to share your physics knowledge with the world.
The wrong incentives always lead to the wrong results. Thanks for calling this out!
Thanks from the entire team!
Well said, Simon. Sad, but well said.
Yeah, spending days in YT 😂then playing victim card because life isn't easy. But she's not the only one, YT star physicists love to shine, but end up bitter and angry since they don't hand out Nobel prizes for clicks. And calling others bs (the terrible system that gave you free education) is easy, not so easy when its own
now we can talk about how a certain "99% consensus" about some stuff involving the climate was obtained
@@orionbetelgeuse1937 If you question the "99% consensus" you can easily estimate the chance of getting a proposal accepted. :-)
I love your honesty. My brother got a PhD in theoretical physics from an Ivy League university and he felt the same way you do. He left academia a while ago and works in software now, but he still does his physics and math research every day in his spare time. I admire him a lot.
And thats why number of patents in Western countries decreased in last years. Chinese mastered it team work long time ago and thrive because of it, while here its all divide and conquer of talented motivated people
@@tatjana7008 What? US issued patents are a historic high. Also the number of patents issued has zero connection with fundamental physics research - the measure is peer reviewed publications.
@@Lavabug first of all, Sabine is not from US, she tells about experience in Germany and Europe. Second, number of confirmed patents is much important then applications, and China leads there. Third, science is interconnected and discoveries in fundamental physics might influence practical applications as well. Thats why I do theoretical computer science, because it can influence every branch of science. About papers and publications, many chairs in my university interconnected with industry, and they often end up in patents.
I also left academia, I really didn't like the way it works.
@@tatjana7008 The US issues more utilities patents than any other country, and many Chinese enterprises seek US patents as well. Practical applications have little to do with fundamental science, they are an accident. If you're using patent number to measure scientific progress, you have no knowledge of how science works or what counts as innovation. Patents only measure commercial products, not the generation of knowledge which far outpaces what patents indicate (I am a former patent examiner).
I'd argue that you and other scientists who are sharing their knowledge to a larger audience is a huge service to science in general. I do realize that this is not your passion but I just wanted to express my appreciation and gratitude for what you're doing. You and a couple other YT science channels are planting the seed to many future scientists minds and that's something to be proud of. 👍
Great video Sabine, I love your KZhead channel! I am 71 year old male physicist who experienced everything you talk about in this video. In particular I saw persistent discrimination against my female colleagues.
Speaking as retired full professor (social sciences) at a research university in the in USA I fully support your decision. You play a vital role as a public intellectual helping to educate non-specialists about the state of scientific inquiry in the physical sciences. Your KZhead videos reach many more people - several orders of magnitude - than typical research publications read by a handful of specialists. So I say Bravo! Keep up the good work.
You've gotta admit, from the respected Popperian POV at least, social science should almost never be called a science?
truer words were never spoken
@@lighthousesaunders7242 "Respected Popperian" bro hardly any academics of philosophy take Popper seriously. But yes, if you take Popper seriously, then you have to reject sociology and economics, and some of biology and climatology would also be on shaky grounds.
Bravo
The problem is these videos get hijacked by conspiracy nutters, rather then anybody who could do anything about the issues she raises
Near the end of my PhD, my advisor wanted me to take a paper I wrote for PRL and write a longer one for PRC and I told him I didn't feel like there was really anything more to say for our work. I later felt bad as he ended up not getting tenure which left me in a weird state as I finished my degree without a local advisor and thus no advocate or mentor at the university. I ended up set loose as soon as the paperwork was signed on my diploma. I ended up like a lot of physicists, working in finance, and after getting married and having two children, there really wasn't any going back. Plus the realization that my notion of what academia is like was really, like yours, more of a romantic dream rather than the reality. I don't really miss academia, I miss what I thought academia was supposed to be.
Perfect response-and almost exactly my same story: the idea-or dream-is very different than the reality. I never finished my Ph.D because of this.
Thanks for sharing. What role are you currently working in finance?
How did you made your skills as a physicist applicable to finance? It’s obviously transferable to those that know but employers don’t always fall under that category
@@Ducktility I really just do software development, but in a financial context for back-end calculations.
@@EyanZ1997 Well, in the mid-1990s when I finished, that was not really true. Physicists were desirable for implementing numerical models, especially if they had software skill. Since I worked for two years in software before grad school, and did a lot of modeling in grad school, it was an easy sell.
You are awesome and smarter than most. I love your spirit, candar, and direct speech. I am grateful that you are here. I have a BS in Aerospace Engineering (I was never able to practice my degree, but it lead to a great lifestyle) and even at that level saw what you have described. Thank you again for teaching us more about science and physics. Thank you for posting this video.
As someone who's been struggling with the trajectory of my career, I thank you whole heartedly for posting this video. You are an amazingly strong person.
Glad you left the ending in; that sums up everything you said in one sentence. _"Societal pressures too often make me unable to speak, but here at least I can choose what I say."_
This is by far your most brilliant video.❤
That conclusion is no true. YT's terms and the algorithms decide what you can and can't say and or write on this platform.
We will in fact, never know if Sabine can actually choose what she can say on KZhead until the point she get’s regularly de-monetised or de-platformed. Rumble is where she’d be if in fact she did want to comment in a non-KZhead compliant way. Sabine is simply just operating in a field that is less socio-politically contentious. She’s far too intelligent to imagine her sitting in Plato’s cage with her back to the light, which makes that final statement very puzzling. Rather than underscoring her position, it undermines the viewer’s confidence that she truly understands the assaults on freedom of thought and expression and journalistic investigation that so very very many are experiencing right now.
@@07Flash11MRC - edit that comment, to make it say what you intended... ??
The fact that this statement is apparently no longer in the video is incredibly suspicious. I assume Sabine was either was forced to edit it or did so out of concern that those "societal pressures" were going to come to bear on her.
"I think I owe you an explanation" - No you don't, but I am glad you did give it anyway and I found your perspective very interesting.
Thanks Sabine, as an ex-academic scientist working for a national institution and now self employed forest science freelancer and I totally sympathize with your situation and experience. The great thing is that you give me (and thousands of others) the opportunity to have fun learning new things about our universe during my breaks. This process will accelerate interest in science and lead to who knows what discoveries. I call this a win win situation. You are wonderful and I can totally understand the marriage proposals. (Don't worry I am happily married with two kids who also love science).
I’m a very senior university staff member who’s worked in large scales research funding (grants and contracts) for 12 years and this video is totally true! As someone who’s just survived breast cancer, I’m reflecting on how low satisfaction I’m now getting out of my job. Previously loved it, because I’ve helped researchers get literally millions of dollars in funding!
I'm a gardener with a lay interest in physics. Gardening is no bullshit in an otherwise cynical world. It makes for good health both physical and mental. I already had enough bullshit as an undergrad. The boffins careened off into ideological space and lost touch with the natural world, and all the brain-work made me depressed, so I started digging holes, moving rocks and planting shrubs, and this is a much happier place. I'm glad you escaped that miserable, dishonest path and took the path of truth. It is an inspiring story, and I'm a big fan. Most inspiring comments section here, too.
Gardening is dramatically helped by cow manure and bullshit is not shunned either. (The REAL bullshit, not the bullshit bullshit!) ;-)
Hear , hear !
Good for you lloydy! I wish you great success
I’m actually thinking of going this route! It’s nice to hear someone who’s done so!
The fact is, the amount of screentime required in any academic pursuit is unhealthy unless it is rigorously managed.
I am glad you posted the video! As a female academic approaching retirement (and not with a pension), I can definitely relate to what you experienced. With 24,614 comments as of my posting, it is unlikely that you will see this, but THANK YOU.
Sorry about your pension
I see you and you deserve better
I see you.
Love you Sabine, and thanks for posting this video. Problems will not get solved if they are not known
Hello Sabine, I am certain that many of your learners enjoy what you do and would love academia to shift from where they are. At end of the day, our time here is limited. I encourage you, not that you needed, to keep doing you what are doing.
I attempted my PhD starting in 2019 at a federal research institute and was shocked to find what Sabine is talking about. Dozens of smart people working as PhD students, post docs or engineers were repackaging the same old data they produced years ago or followed outdated ideas with seemingly no use just for the sake of writing papers. The people there knew the absurdity of the situation but the need for money and job security overshadowed everything else. Finally after two years that shattered my scientific curiosity I broke out of that madness, cancelled my PhD position and left the academic world.
Unlike you it dawned on me in my final year In college, that whilst I had adored science from my childhood, it was a career that I could not afford to chase for the rest of my adult life. Though the bug has never left me, today as I approach my 80th, year, real science education has become so accessible, thanks to you, and many like you on the net. Your wide variety subject matters, dispensed in your unique presentation style, I find educational and repeatedly amusing. Keep up the good work Sabine and stay true to your beliefs.
What you do now ?
You lasted longer than I did... finished my PhD (having survived broken bones, deaths, years overseas research, changes in Committee, and a mother who said, "...but you are still unmarried") I quit academia and moved to Italy to milk cows and make wine. Now I write novels. I do miss the intellectualism. but not the politics. Love you, Sabine!
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. I took a gap year between getting my bachelor’s and going to graduate school. It’s now been a five-year gap year because I thought better of it after meeting lots of people already in the meat grinder. I sometimes wonder where my career would be, but I’ve found myself on a path more interesting and worthwhile to me.
Care to plug your novel?
@@Weberbros1 heck yeah! Thanks! Rachel Hoffman, SALTINE (Otis Books, 2021) No self-help, no politics, no trauma: just humor and humanity for smart adults who need a mental vacation...
@@rileyhoffman6629 that's the best pitch I've ever heard for a book in this day and age!
In the end you won.
Very well said! I’m glad you went ahead and post it.
I just discovered your channel today watching your commentary on String theory and its history. I love your videos and they’ve reminded me why I find physics so fascinating. You’re brilliant and I think you’re serving humanity and your mental health much better by bringing these issues and concepts you love to an audience who appreciates your passion more than some stuffy asshats on a review board.
Welcome😊
Sabine, a brilliant summary of a common PhD experience. Much like my own. Thank you for pulling back the curtain.
Sabine, she is damn right
I did a PhD. The main finding of the work was that PhDs are a waste of time (which wasn't actually a new finding).
@@JupiterThunderit just keep the wheel turning and you learn a lot in the process like what drugs work best to write XD
Also a retired academic. I had decent employment, was intellectually challenged, had more free time to accomplish what I wanted than I ever would have found in any other job, but at the same time was always disappointed by the lack of collegiality and any sense of cohesiveness in the department. The milieu - populated with tremendous egos, some earned, some not so much - made for a very lonely existence. I did my research, taught my courses and went home, spending as little time on campus as possible. There were very few friends to be found in such a environment. I loved my students - the only real saving grace. Thanks for your videos.
Is it the doctoral defence which turns ourselves so offensive afterwards?
Hey, sad to hear that. This sounds like bad luck, but you are definitly not alone. I build a new team at a company, interviewed many phd‘s. The easiest way to get them excited, was telling them that they would work with others on a common goal. I could literally see the spark in their eyes, as if they saw light for the first time after 3 years. I myself got lucky, my time during my phd was great. Insanenly interesting topic, bde ent success in my work and outstanding colleges.
The only way to get a sense of cohesiveness was to threaten to merge the department... the only time Architects seem to get along is when you suggest that the department might be replaced with a double degree of Arts and Engineering.
@@fly_8659 hehe good story.
Thank you for sharing, I’m great full you did publish this.
She is absolutely spot on. And kudos for putting your kids first. We need more Sabines.
Female biologist over 40 from Germany here. That's exactly how I see it. Not only from my own experience, but also from that of many acquaintances. At the beginning, you're quite happy that you can do what you like without being bothered. By the time you write your thesis at the latest, you realize the difficulties of the system that you describe. I was also irritated by the inaccuracy with which results are produced, at least in biology. As soon as you are in the system, you also see the incompetence (technical, organizational, human) of other researchers. I often had the impression that some were simply in the right place at the right time and were just willing to play along with this application circus. As a woman, it's particularly difficult if you want to start a family. It's hardly possible without help, including financial help, from grandparents. I know some who have made it at least some way, but only with the help of their parents. Yes, the system is weak. I've seen many excellent young researchers leave because they didn't want to play this game. Nevertheless, I have also met nice, very competent colleagues who have made it - but very few.
"I was also irritated by the inaccuracy with which results are produced" THIS, ohhh you can't image how this makes me angry.
In the beginning, we were all ignorant and delusional. Then the realities of this world became apparent. Why be bitter about it?
You're supposed to be able to have a husband bring you, the mother the resources to give birth and raise your child. We have always been able to do this until the petrol dollar was invented and bankers realized they would need more workers or the system would crash too soon. One parent gets the resources and contributes to society. The other parent raises the child and contributes to your family. Corporations have demanded that both parents be tapped for work and our children have suffered dearly for it. In Ireland it's actually in their constitution that should this ever happen they have a right to dissolve the gov and start over(should a mother ever be forced to work in order to raise her child as this is the entire point of society, we know we can make a society where only one parent needs to work and so any society where 2 must is a failure and they KNEW THIS). I don't think they enforce it or they just give welfare checks to them. Regardless, only serfs and indentured servants were made to have mothers work. We have been enslaved and told it was empowering.
At least you are an independent, strong empowered wahman❤
I thought scientists were infallible? Sounds like we've been sold another lie by the atheists.
Dear Dr. Hossenfelder, dear Sabine, I am a marine biologist from The Netherlands and active in academia. You echoed all my frustrations about our world. Thank you for speaking your mind ❤. I too challenge my peers by asking whether they really think they're going to change the world or simply keeping themselves in business. The result: denial, or better termed cognitive dissonance. I too dream of a youtube career, but I suck at it 😅. Best of luck to you, Sabine, and thank you for your wonderful videos.
You do know people can tell when you are BSing right. Nobody goes into marine biology thinking they will "change the world".
fake it till you make it, and don't count on youtube, post on 4 or 5 different platforms, facebook, odysee, rumble, tiktok, maybe discord, etc.
What do you do as a marine biologist?
@@zet0korp don't believe everything you read in KZhead comments.
Change the world? You’re one of those scientists. Im glad they ignore you. Wait for the next Era, the world would have changed.
Just wanted to say posting this video was the right thing to do. Thanks for sharing something so personal but so relevant in today’s discussion about academia.
From a former aspiring astronomer I also felt like my dream died when I couldn’t get into academia. But that’s life and thank you for sharing! You made me feel better with my current situation knowing how honest you are. I respect that a lot. I do enjoy your videos because they allow me to think differently from all these other science videos that all almost all the same.
Like you, I wanted to become an astronomer. It was my mom who convinced me that it wasn't a practical field for most, particularly a woman. I studied udied computers and database design instead and never regretted it. Astronomy can be a hobby.
FWIW Sabine: I decided to be a medical doctor at the age of four. Spent my life in the pursuit of that dream, qualified, and all of my adult life has been dedicated to that calling - I've been pretty bloody good at it. But here's the rub - I hated every minute here in the UK, it's been that horrible. In my mid 50's I 'stressed out', I'm now at a complete loss and thoroughly regret all those lost years. If it helps you are not alone. Better yet, you've found something genuinely worthwhile to do that doesn't render what you did before wasted effort.
Ironically, my US doctor got tired of the paperwork and insurance controls on medicine, quit his practice and went into medical research at NIH.
We the patients are grateful for your service even if the govt isn't......
What you said reminded me, a veteran in the USA, of a visit to a doctor at the VA. He said to me . . . "You know why I came to work for the VA?" Then he said "Because at the VA, it is not like being a normal civilian doctor, because of the constant pressure to make profits." That told me all I needed to know about seeing any doctors outside of the VA here in the USA.
Sabine- nice to know I’m not alone. Same thing happened to me in a different discipline. But when the PhD work made me disillusioned I pivoted to MD. Now, at the end of my career doing work that I’ve loved, the corporate sharks have taken over (in the US) and I’m getting out. So Charles, I can sympathize brother. It seems the common thread is the drive for money. As much as I loathed the hold religion had on our world in the past, at least it acknowledged mammon as bad. Maybe our kids can get it right because our generation has sure made a mess of things.
@@mangodoc10 It's "love of mammon". Yeah, there is wisdom in those pages, but you've got to winnow.
Hi Sabine. My name is Mihai, i am an archaeologist with close to two decades in the industry. Tonight, I had a few pints with a friend of mine and we where talking about the same sh1tshow in our industry, academic and commercial. Your channel is a breath of fresh air and a good place to learn. Thank you for your time and effort and for this video, particularly.
what area of archaeology?
... that's why I am unemployed and enjoy my life and time by learning what I want, doing recreational sports, taking strolls in the park, watching documentaries and gaming. Everything government tries to get me into work will only lead to the government paying three times more for me than it does now. I am definitely not prostituting myself in fake,-science and fake-research. To you I wish the best - and to enjoy yourself as much or even more as I do in my position. I did not choose it but rather got shifted into it...but AI adapted and now like it very much... especially because now I know what I avoided without even knowing it back then.
@@curiousbystander9193several areas of interest, but I work mainly in commercial archaeology and planning.
@@chillfluencerthere's a bit of a difference between me, who works for a living and pays taxes and, if you live off of government assistance, meant to be a support for people who NEED OT FOR WHATEVER REASON, you... If you live of of your personal savings, I can't tell you how to live your life and spend your money. If you are on the public support, get off your effing ass and get a job, you prick.
Beautiful! You nailed it! I just subscribed! Looking forward to hearing more about what you are passionate about! Bless you!
I think you're great for telling it like it is! I'm no scientist but I do love learning and you make it easier to understand certain things that are more complicated. Thank you!
I agree with you entirely. I walked away from this weird world of writing papers in 1971, utterly deceived by the rat race of the conflict between publishing and keeping things secret to prevent someone else publishing before you. Expanding human knowledge was not the priority - it was just an immoral competition for grant money.
And that was in 1971? Already?
@@frankfahrenheit9537 This hit! 1971!
You did academia in US? Germany imported this system somewhen in the 90".
@@ich3601 I was in the UK in 1971.
Read a biography of Sir Richard Francis Burton.
Thank you for your work on KZhead. You touch millions of people, some of which will become the next Einstein thanks to you. I'm excited every day about your next video.
As an unemployed former multiple postdoc, I feel her pain. This emotional and actual support here above is epic. I wish I too could give such financial gift. The honesty in the video was refreshing, the absurdity of academia failed her, not the other way around. It’s bull****
@@Elo-hv3fw Just like He Who Shall Not be Named made Harry Potter.
Unfortunately Albert was a HUGE HUGE fraud. Weird so many bright people are unable to grasp that. Read Phyllis Schlafly's book.
@@Elo-hv3fw Yeah, that guy.
We're glad you found us, Sabine 😊. Long may you reign🎉🎉🎉.
It would have been such a shame, had you not posted this video. I think your experience needed to be told and you're such a refreshing voice to listen to. Everything happens for a reason and I feel you are making the right impact. I stumbled upon your video by chance but it immediately made me want to subscribe to your channel.
A video that ends with I’m not sure I will post this, is the one that needs to be posted. And we the internet are glad you did! Go Sabine!
✅🙏🏻
Well, given the censorship and meting out of punishments, even by governments, for "saying the wrong things" online, which she may be aware of, I get the concern she has, but my guess is that this discussion would not get her in trouble. It doesn't directly prod any politically protected sacred cows (not yet, anyway).
Yes.
Amen!
I am glad this was not another unfinished symphony.
The ghastly level of replicability of published scientific work tells me you're right.
It truly is ghastly, though I've spent a horrific amount of time reading through epidemiological studies in food and health science so I'm a bit biased. Sometimes the most basic critical thinking can rule out the conclusions of well-cited research papers, but it gets published anyway because you don't get that sweet sweet grant money otherwise, and nobody actually cares anyway. They're just people with jobs who are afraid to lose their jobs.
replicability, and reproducibility!
Biological sciences have their own problems (the reproducibility crisis), but it's a bit different from physics.
@@yomin2162 ecology trying to hide
Exactly! Without replication and falsifiability, there is no science going on. Our modern knowledge is 95% shifting sand.
100% correct. You are not alone. It is the same story everywhere.
i salute you for calling out the bullshit for what it is in no uncertain terms, and i thank you for the honest exploration and sharing of information you now engage in ... what science *should* be.