Like Judith Britz,1 I left the academic career path 15 years ago, for economic reasons. I left academics, it did not leave me: the papers I wrote 15 years ago are still being cited. I loved the science, but after five years living on $5,000 a year, the grim economic prospects and high career risk associated with academic science disqualified it from serious consideration. Risk is supposed to be associated with reward, but that's another subject.
Do something with me: Take out a dollar bill and look at it. It bears the likeness of our first president, the signature of the secretary of the treasury, the great seal of the United States, and quite a few other political symbols. It's a political document.
Money is our mechanism for the collective expression of value. If you're doing something people find valuable, they will tell you about it, using that mechanism....
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