• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Fat Tail Daily

Investment Ideas From the Edge of the Bell Curve

  • Menu
    • Commodities
      • Resources and Mining
      • Copper
      • Gold
      • Iron Ore
      • Lithium
      • Silver
      • Graphite
      • Rare Earths
    • Technology
      • AI
      • Bitcoin
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Energy
      • Financial Technology
      • Bio Technology
    • Market Analysis
      • Latest ASX News
      • Dividend Shares
      • ETFs
      • Stocks and Bonds
    • Macro
      • Australian Economy
      • Central Banks
      • World Markets
    • Small Caps
    • More
      • Investment Guides
      • Premium Research
      • Editors
      • About
      • Contact Us
  • Latest
  • Fat Tail Series
  • About Us
Macro Australian Economy

How Commoditised Research Is Destroying Universities and Academic Integrity

Like 0

By Brian Chu, Friday, 10 September 2021

The reason why I raise this story is that it is the epitome of how far down the gutter the academic publication industry has sunk.

Our current economic woes are a result of poor economic policies, social activism, and bad forecasting.

Yet policymakers continue to double down as they claim their strategies are backed by data and models, some of which originate from academic institutions.

Last week I talked about how governments pushing mandatory vaccinations on high school students raises the question on the dubious benefits of higher education. I looked into how universities are compromising the quality of education, in particular, metrics focusing on student perception replacing more objective metrics have watered down teaching quality.

Today I will explore how universities are at risk of creating perverse incentives driven by their reliance on research output and funding.

Many may have heard of the phrase ‘publish or perish’. Academics know their careers rest on the number of publications and citations as well as how much grant funding they bring in.

I want to bring up an interesting episode involving three US academics, Dr Peter Boghossian, James Lindsay, and Helen Pluckrose. In 2018, they shone a light on the flaws of the academic publishing industry by gaming the system of academic writing.

They identified the prevailing social justice viewpoints and submitted absurd, illogical articles that agree with these ideologies to various journals. The reviewers accepted their work and published them, much to their amusement. Some of the works are a travesty of academic discourse that no sane human would take seriously.

You can watch a video about this story here.

The reason why I raise this story is that it is the epitome of how far down the gutter the academic publication industry has sunk.

There is a sequel to this saga.

Dr Peter Boghossian just wrote a resignation letter to Oregon State University yesterday, citing that he cannot work in the industry that he claims is deliberately destroying freethought and inquiry. He claims these institutions are no longer about encouraging the journey to seek truth.

You can read his letter here.

Why does this matter?

Dr Boghossian’s resignation brings to light that many universities are acting to undermine academic integrity. Some institutions foster toxic cultures that are openly hostile towards anyone who holds a different opinion.

You may have also noticed the rise in incidents of campus violence in recent times, often targeting those who do not agree with leftist views.

These reasons drove Dr Boghossian to quit.

How have we come full circle of the campus revolts in the 1960s and 1970s to the same thing today?

Commercialising research and its perverse incentives

University culture became increasingly cut-throat as government reduced funding in the first decade of the 21st century.

The introduction of the Research Quality Framework (RQF) in 2007 by the Howard government played a huge role in causing the decline of university culture we see today.

The RQF shifted university funding to focus on research grants. Funding from student enrolments fell and the government encouraged universities to make up for the shortfall through competing for funding from government schemes like the Australian Research Council (ARC) and private sector grant funding.

On the surface, this seemed like a good move. It encouraged universities to behave more like private businesses and become more competitive. In turn, academics become researchers who bring their knowledge into the classroom to enrich student experience.

However, it has its unintended consequences.

Academic departments began to sacrifice teaching quality and focused their time on research output.

It is simple — do what gets measured.

Many academics who are great teachers ended up falling behind their research-oriented counterparts.

Academic promotions were based largely on publications, citations, and bringing in research grants. Many of those who run departments are researchers, but ineffective administrators.

In certain departments like humanities and law, where ideology runs strong, dissenters find themselves with the choice of conforming or quitting. This stifles freethought and builds echo chambers.

On another front, many academics serve as editors of the journals that publish their work. Over time, it is possible for like-minded academics to band together to dominate boards of prominent journals.

This is not a conspiracy; it’s simply natural behaviour.

What results is journals beginning to only publish articles that agree with their practice or views. Editors would sideline submitted work that didn’t follow their thinking. I have seen authors holding a minority view in a discipline having to shop hard for a journal in a different discipline to publish their work.

Another game is to mutually cite each other’s work and create the illusion that a particular academic finding is ‘settled science’. This gives ground for them to ridicule and handily undermine any opposing views in the public sphere.

Insiders know this is the game.

Another problem is in the grant funding model that is in the form of ‘winner-take-all’. Those with the most funding can drive an entire disciplinary field by sheer force of numbers and gatekeeping. Corporations can reinforce this problem by finding these thought leaders who will most likely publish and deliver results they like.

Think about the tobacco, asbestos, pharmaceutical companies in the past that paid scientists to publish results we know today are harmful to our health.

And nowadays, universities are walking down the same path.

Uncontrolled fiat currency creation encourages perverse behaviour in the financial markets. Dishonest money is likewise corrupting higher education. The brave few go against the tide putting their career and even their lives at risk.

The only way to avoid this difficult situation is in your financial independence. It allows you to stand by your own principles, against all odds.

If you want to learn more about how the system is corrupt and how the mainstream media perpetuates this, the founder of Agora Financial (our parent company), Bill Bonner, is releasing his newest book Win-Win or Lose.

Bill writes in an engaging and simple manner, allowing you to become just as smart as those with many letters after their name, without having to sit through their classes and pass exams.

More information about it here!

God bless,

Brian Chu Signature

Brian Chu,
Editor, The Daily Reckoning Australia

PS: Our publication The Daily Reckoning is a fantastic place to start your investment journey. We talk about the big trends driving the most innovative stocks on the ASX. Learn all about it here.

All advice is general advice and has not taken into account your personal circumstances.

Please seek independent financial advice regarding your own situation, or if in doubt about the suitability of an investment.

Brian Chu

Brian Chu is one of Australia’s foremost independent authorities on gold and gold stocks, with a unique strategy for valuing big producers and highly speculative explorers. He established a private family fund that only invests in ASX-listed gold mining companies, being one of a few such funds in Australia, putting his strategy and research skills to the test under public scrutiny. He currently writes two gold-focused investment advisories.

In his Australian Gold Report, Brian helps you build long-term wealth in physical gold and a select portfolio of hand-picked stocks comprising mainly producers with proven revenue streams and appealing risk-reward profiles. He uses his original valuation metrics and a tried-and-tested investment strategy to help you to deliver sustained outperformance against industry benchmarks.

In his more specialised Gold Stock Pro service, Brian helps readers trade some of the most exciting, speculative gold mining plays on the ASX. He uses his proprietary system — based on the famous Lassonde Curve model, which tracks the life cycle of mining stocks. His aim is to help you navigate the gold and silver cycles, and to capitalise on the bull market for opportunities to deliver outsized gains.

Brian’s Premium Subscriptions

Publication logo
The Australian Gold Report
Publication logo
Gold Stock Pro

Latest Articles

  • America’s next Vietnam begins
    By Callum Newman

    I remember George W Bush on a US carrier declaring ‘Mission Accomplished’ when it came to Iraq in the second Gulf war. That was in 2003. The war was still going in 2011. Iraq became a failed state, instead of a flourishing democracy. The Iranians aren’t stupid.

  • Are we at war with China?
    By Nick Hubble

    Tariffs, fentanyl, the Straits of Hormuz, Canadian steel quotas and the EU admitting “Trump is right” all mean one thing: the West is finally taking on China.

  • Looking for the Catalyst: European Rearmament
    By James Cooper

    Every commodity cycle has a demand catalyst… James Cooper highlights one that few have paid attention to: conflict and military rearming. One of the primary drivers of higher metal prices. Read on to find out why this is important.

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

  • America’s next Vietnam begins
  • Are we at war with China?
  • Looking for the Catalyst: European Rearmament
  • An oil price spike is in the offing now
  • The Shopping Revolution No One Saw Coming

Footer

Fat Tail Daily Logo
YouTube
Facebook
x (formally twitter)
LinkedIn

About

Investment ideas from the edge of the bell curve.

Go beyond conventional investing strategies with unique ideas and actionable opportunities. Our expert editors deliver conviction-led insights to guide your financial journey.

Quick Links

Subscribe

About

FAQ

Terms and Conditions

Financial Services Guide

Privacy Policy

Get in Touch

Contact Us

Email: support@fattail.com.au

Phone: 1300 667 481

All advice is general in nature and has not taken into account your personal circumstances. Please seek independent financial advice regarding your own situation, or if in doubt about the suitability of an investment.

The value of any investment and the income derived from it can go down as well as up. Never invest more than you can afford to lose and keep in mind the ultimate risk is that you can lose whatever you’ve invested. While useful for detecting patterns, the past is not a guide to future performance. Some figures contained in our reports are forecasts and may not be a reliable indicator of future results. Any actual or potential gains in these reports may not include taxes, brokerage commissions, or associated fees.

Fat Tail Logo

Fat Tail Daily is brought to you by the team at Fat Tail Investment Research

Copyright © 2025 Fat Tail Daily | ACN: 117 765 009 / ABN: 33 117 765 009 / ASFL: 323 988