“Knowledge formation, even when theoretical, takes time,
some boredom, and the freedom that comes from having another occupation,
therefore allowing one to escape the journalistic-style pressure of modern
publish-and-perish academia to produce cosmetic knowledge, much like the
counterfeit watches one buys in Chinatown in New York City, the type that you
know is counterfeit although it looks like the real thing. There were two main
sources of technical knowledge and innovation in the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries: the hobbyist and the English rector, both of whom were generally in
barbell situations.” –Nassim Taleb, Antifragile
