Ms.PhD has left a new comment on your post "twenty-four/seven academics":
Yeah, I think you're missing the point. There are places where people work on campus around the clock, because they want to. Then there's a culture that feeds on itself, it becomes more enjoyable to be on campus working with other people who also care a lot about what they're doing and enjoy it.
And there are places where people work when they feel like it, and sometimes work at home because it's not fun to work on campus when you're alone working.
I'm not sure this is a big pool/little pool thing, but I haven't been enough places to really know. I've been at both kinds of places, though, and while I think the 80 hour work week is highly overrated, I think what you mean is that you are wanting to be in a culture where people are there a lot, sharing ideas, discussing excitedly. I too wish that there were more places like this.
I guess my attitude is very "out there", but honestly I think the problem is that there are a lot of people who choose the academic lifestyle because it's flexible and interesting, not because they really want to get a lot done and be immersed in it all the time.
I sometimes wonder if I would feel less burned out if I were somewhere that had a better atmosphere, where people shared ideas and built better mousetraps, instead of all racing along on their little hamster wheels in separate cages, trying to see who's going to win the race to nowhere.
Posted by Ms.PhD to academicsecret at 8/02/2007 10:21 PM
