Dear Heterodox Community,
I'm an undergraduate STEM student in earnest need of advice. I will be applying to graduate school this Fall. As we all know too well, the modern academe enforces ideological purity. This is old news. However, I refuse acquiescence. I love research and can't imagine not doing a PhD. That said, how does one find an advisor who embraces free speech and diversity of thought? I have the feeling that there are many out there who secretly detest the modern trends in academia. Is there a secret sign or handshake I can use to let them know "I'm one of us?" Or do I outrightly express my views to him or her? I'd like to avoid unnecessary enemies and find a supportive advisor. I don't want to spend five years feeling like I'm in hiding.
I worry even my attitude towards science may be off-putting. I miss the old days when scientists were allowed to be masculine: ambitious, competitive, speak their mind, rogue and free. I'm lucky to have found my current mentor. He calls me out on my BS. If I think he's in the wrong, I tell him to get off my ass. Our relationship is actually very respectful, but always being nice doesn't cut it. I remember expressing to a prior mentor my desire to compete(!) and win best poster. I could sense the dismay.
Thank you for your time. Any and all input is welcome. Maybe I'm being paranoid.
Sincerely,
M.C.
The Flying University
MC,
I don't think there's a secret handshake, and I think you would want to be very careful about bringing up Classical Liberal ideas as a graduate student. There are, of course, certain demographic factors that might predict how receptive a potential advisor would be to heterodox thinking (I won't go into details). I do think it's important for open-minded and free thinking students to go to graduate school and pursue academic careers, even though it may be painful at times. Science needs you! I think the best advice I have is to read and think about Solzhenitsyn's "Live not by Lies:"
https://www.solzhenitsyncenter.org/live-not-by-lies
You may not always be able to tell the truth, but at least don't participate in the lies, and do your small part to undermine them when you can.
Dorian
An anonymous addition to the advice:
-- Do not put your pronouns in anything. That sends a signal about yourself.
-- See whether others put out their pronouns. If a man does so, that is a particularly bad signal. If a woman does not do so, that is a particularly good signal.
-- Check out the signers of public statements. There are several of these now. Here are some I know of:
https://americanmind.org/salvo/an-open-letter-on-campus-culture/
https://sites.google.com/view/petition-letter-stephen-hsu/home
-- Once you've done some homework, try to talk to a potential adviser in person, at a conference or in his office or wherever. I think you'll be able to tell fairly quickly how deeply you share interests and concerns. And if you've done your homework, you won't have made an enemy if he isn't quite the adviser for you.