&gt; it is the ones who quickly learn to sublimate their desire for intellectually rigorous research and social betterment in favor of political skills who naturally rise to the gatekeeper positions.<p>Nevermind just academia.  Sadly, what you&#x27;ve just described neatly sums up modern work life in most <i>organizations</i> (companies, non-profits, open source, etc.) that I&#x27;ve been a part of.<p>Startups may sometimes be an exception to this rule, but they often come with their own set of problems (frat house atmosphere, ageism, zero diversity, expectations of 80+ hour weeks, etc.).