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Perplexed comments on The Value of Theoretical Research - Less Wrong Discussion

30 Post author: paulfchristiano 25 February 2011 06:06PM

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Comment author: Perplexed 25 February 2011 06:53:34PM 10 points [-]

For many of us, choosing a career path has a dominant effect on our contribution to the society. For those of us who care what happens to society, this makes it one of the most important decisions we make.

Do you really see this as a one-time choice that you are stuck with for the rest of your life? I think that most people (in the US, at least) find themselves making decisions that change their career paths right up until retirement (and beyond).

A suggestion. Write down the names of three senior people in your field whose contributions you admire. Now add three people who made important discoveries in their youth thirty years ago and are still alive. Add three people who you think have made significant contributions to society in some way related to your field. And finally, three people who made significant contributions to society from any field.

Take a look at the CVs and/or biographical sketches of these people. Look particularly at the career decisions they made - at your age and later in their careers. I'm not sure what you will find, but I have my guesses:

  • Very few people spend a lifetime doing pure research.
  • The people who contributed most to society did not consciously set out to do so at the start of their careers.
  • You get lots of opportunities along the way to steer your career path. But the true helmsman of notable people's careers is serendipity.
Comment author: paulfchristiano 25 February 2011 07:02:29PM 6 points [-]

I don't view it as a one time choice at all (if I had to pin down the point at which you made a choice, I would say mine had already passed). My point is that choosing what you do from day to day is important.

Very few people spend a lifetime doing pure research.

This appears to be true only insofar as academia is small. I know a great many people who have spent their entire lifetimes doing pure research, a great many people who are basically guaranteed to spend their entire lifetimes doing pure research, and a great many people who plan to spend their entire lifetimes doing pure research.

The people who contributed most to society did not consciously set out to do so at the start of their careers.

I think this is weak evidence for your implicit conclusion. I have to choose, for example, what I do tomorrow. Do you think that by being concerned with the effects on society I contribute less?

I don't have time right now, but perhaps I will dig through some biographies later tonight. It is certainly an interesting exercise.

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