[chii]

> why would you need $100k to work on mathematics?

it's to live off, and support dependents while doing something that would not bring in traditional forms of profit.

That's why it's usually called a grant, rather than an investment - because the granter isn't going to see a direct financial return (but would want to see a societal return such as knowledge or something cultural etc).

[jaredklewis]

100k for 6 months __living expenses__ would be without question the most generous grant I have ever seen or heard of.

[mirker]

Yeah, PhD income is $40k or less a year. So 5x above market rate for high-risk research. On top of that, PhD students are well-aligned for the research and have other non-monetary reasons to pursue the research (their PhD requirements).

[chii]

as mentioned in the other thread - the grant needs to compete with existing salary, or the OP would need to sacrifice potential income.

I dont think 100k for 6 months is ridiculous, because this is basically the starting salary for a grad engineer at a FAANG tech company. More, if they have experience.

What's actually ridiculous is "PhD income is $40k or less a year" - i think people (such as yourself) is so desensitized to low income as to feel normalized about it!