That is hard to parse. You are asking why I think the rate of runaway positive feedback cycles is difficult to control? That is because that is often their nature.
Allow me to try: There are positive feedback cycles which appear to be going in runaway mode. Why is this evidence for "things are going to get better" rather than "things are going to get worse"?
Your argument as a whole- "we need to get above this variability regime into a stable regime"- answers why the runaway positive feedback loop would be desirable, but does not convincingly establish (the part I've read, at least, you may do this elsewhere) that the part above the current variability is actually a stable attractor, instead of us shooting to up to Venus's climate (or something less extreme but still regrettable for humans).
but does not convincingly establish (the part I've read, at least, you may do this elsewhere) that the part above the current variability is actually a stable attractor, instead of us shooting to up to Venus's climate (or something less extreme but still regrettable for humans).
Well, we already know what the planet is like when it is not locked into a crippling ice age. Ice-cap free is how the planet has spent the vast majority of its history. We have abundant records about that already.
Ideally, I'd like to save the world. One way to do that involves contributing academic research, which raises the question of what's the most effective way of doing that.
The traditional wisdom says if you want to do research, you should get a job in a university. But for the most part the system seems to be set up so that you first spend a long time working for someone else and research their ideas, after which you can lead your own group, but then most of your time will be spent on applying for grants and other administrative trivia rather than actually researching the interesting stuff. Also, in Finland at least, all professors need to also spend time doing teaching, so that's another time sink.
I suspect I would have more time to actually dedicate on research, and I could get doing it quicker, if I took a part-time job and did the research in my spare time. E.g. the recommended rates for a freelance journalist in Finland would allow me to spend a week each month doing work and three weeks doing research, of course assuming that I can pull off the freelance journalism part.
What (dis)advantages does this have compared to the traditional model?
Some advantages:
Some disadvantages:
EDIT: Note that while I certainly do appreciate comments specific to my situation, I posted this over at LW and not Discussion because I was hoping the discussion would also be useful for others who might be considering an academic path. So feel free to also provide commentary that's US-specific, say.