I think “science” is just a huge overfunded thing these days. Possibly because the first world is very rich, has a relatively large population at high IQ that is in the market for “a meaningful life” as a luxury good (with their lower needs all met already). So folks from this population go into science.
This was not always the state of affairs. So I think your hypothesis is more about contemporary science, than science overall.
I think “science” is just a huge overfunded thing these days. Possibly because the first world is very rich, has a relatively large population at high IQ that is in the market for “a meaningful life” as a luxury good (with their lower needs all met already). So folks from this population go into science.
This was not always the state of affairs. So I think your hypothesis is more about contemporary science, than science overall.
That’s an interesting thought. Care to disassemble it into smaller pieces?
Are hard sciences overfunded? Soft sciences? Are there too many colleges and universities with too many professors?
Where would you direct the resources from cutting science funding? What would be long-term consequences?