[Ar-Curunir]

There's a lot of fanciful stuff about "creative" and "absent-minded" people doing the best work, but what actually makes a good researcher is the same as in any other field: (a) curiosity (b) determination, and (c) hard work.

PhD programs don't take people who just have a good GPA; you have to have a research record before you're even in the consideration. I've been on an admissions committee, so this is not conjecture.

[codingslave]

Right, but a modern research record is about incremental improvement. The argument being that low hanging fruit is often picked, and so the incremental is natural. My argument is that far too many people are gaming the academic system, using it as a form of status credentialing, which is hurting true academic research.