[nxpnsv]

That validation already happens. I worked as a scientist for a decade before I went to industry, getting grants was a constant struggle - agencies and politicians don't just give out money randomly. One can argue that these processes aren't perfect and that some money gets wasted, and that it makes for weird incentives - but that's a whole other debate.

[boxed]

More money is wasted trying to prevent the money from being wasted I would say. The amount of time spend on grant applications is crazy.

[ykonstant]

And even that time pales before the mental toll. When I first went about writing a grant application, I thought it would be technically easy---I knew the bureaucratic details would be tedious, but otherwise straightforward. Oh boy, I think it was the most mentally taxing, soul crushing work-related task I ever attempted. I failed to submit, by the way. My research output also plummeted that year.

[boxed]

Classic "penny wise, pound fooling" crap. We could probably be a hundred or more years ahead of where we are if we stopped sabotaging ourselves like this...