Author Archives: Prof. Andrew R. Timming

I hope it hasn’t escaped your attention that it’s mental health awareness week. Truth be told, I’m a bit torn about allocating a single week per year to encourage reflection on mental health. Shouldn’t we be doing that every week? Or even every day? But at the same time, perhaps an occasional reminder to lookContinue reading “Look After Yourself, Because Few Others Will”

Did you know that Karl Marx was a staunch advocate of free trade? Don’t believe me? Well, it’s true. In 1848, in front of a large crowd, Marx delivered a speech that ended with this: “But, in general, the protective system of our day is conservative, while the free trade system is destructive. It breaksContinue reading “Surviving the Twitter Mob”

Students are not customers. Higher education is not a product to be consumed. If students were simply consumers, then universities would need to cater to their every want. Indeed, some do, but a parochial focus on giving students exactly what they want is not in the long-term best interests of the graduates, nor of theContinue reading “Teach Students What They Need to Know, Not What They Want to Know”

Are you seeking a promotion? For most early career researchers, the first step is to look at the promotions process to get an understanding of the criteria. Once you have a look, you’ll see that the criteria are elusive by design. What does it mean to be a “world-leading” researcher? How can you define aContinue reading “Why Everyone Needs a Mentor”

Full disclosure: I am a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Controversial Ideas. If that doesn’t adequately parade my true colors, this will: I am also a member of the Heterodox Academy and, as such, vehemently support viewpoint diversity in universities and the right to free speech, even that which might offend.Continue reading “In Defense of the Journal of Controversial Ideas”

Are there research questions that should never be asked? If so, where do we draw the line between what questions are allowed to be asked, and what questions are forbidden? Who among us can draw that line? And what are the consequences for those academics daring to ask the “wrong” questions? Last year, Stephane M.Continue reading “Forbidden Research in Academia”

It is not absolutely necessary for you to be a good writer to get your manuscripts published—indeed, economists are living proof of this claim. Poor writing can be buried deep beneath statistical brilliance and the insight it delivers. But at the same time, good writing will never, ever hurt your chances of success, no matterContinue reading “Five Academic Writing Hacks”

When I was an undergraduate student around the turn of the century, lectures were very different compared to what they look like today. For starters, students actually showed up religiously and took extensive hand-written notes. I still have notebooks full of lecture material and I confess to looking at them to this day when IContinue reading “The Tyranny of Recorded Lectures”

Work is normally felt as a burden. For starters, it is coercive. In exchange for a wage, you are signing away your autonomy and giving the employer some (limited) control over your behaviors. From a certain point of view, you are sacrificing your freedom for money, and that can be a hard pill for manyContinue reading “Why Academics Work Much Longer Hours Than They Think”

Editor’s Note: The author of this article wishes to remain anonymous, for reasons that will become obvious when you read it. It never occurred to me that I would have to speak out against my PhD advisor because I always thought that these regular tensions are just part of the journey. However, every day thatContinue reading “A Story of Power and Abuse against a PhD Student”