Greg Mankiw's Blog: Good Academic, Bad Human Being: "But don't stop there. If you have this objective, then it is best not to have hobbies, or read novels, or go to the movies. Don't spend time teaching well or mentoring students, except the very best students who can help you with your research. Don't get married or have friends, unless your spouse and friends are PhD economists and can coauthor papers with you. Whatever you do, don't have children--boy, are they a time sink! And if you make the mistake of having children, make sure you spend as little time with them as you can.
In other words, if you want to be the best academic you can be, get ready to be a miserable human being. "
'via Blog this'
2 comments:
This was a big reason I didn't pursue academia.
Yeah. I think his point is broader than that. It's that any time you pursue excellence single mindedly, you're likely to make yourself miserably. The opportunity cost of being the best X you can be, is having a balanced life.
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