I’m really excited for the outcomes you describe: more relentlessly resourceful independent researchers exploring a wider range of options. I do feel a bit concerned that your search for good applicants is up against a challenge. I think that both the intelligence necessary to produce good results and the personality trait of agentiveness such that they can become relentlessly resourceful with training are rare and largely determined early in life. And I think that, given this, a lot of such people will already be quite absorbed in profitable paths by the time they are college graduates. So, it makes me wonder if you should look for young people who are already being remarkably successful in life, and try to recruit them in particular...
I’m really excited for the outcomes you describe: more relentlessly resourceful independent researchers exploring a wider range of options. I do feel a bit concerned that your search for good applicants is up against a challenge. I think that both the intelligence necessary to produce good results and the personality trait of agentiveness such that they can become relentlessly resourceful with training are rare and largely determined early in life. And I think that, given this, a lot of such people will already be quite absorbed in profitable paths by the time they are college graduates. So, it makes me wonder if you should look for young people who are already being remarkably successful in life, and try to recruit them in particular...