We live in a world built by human beings–a world full of imperfections, biases, and absurdities that only humans can conjure up. It is the academic’s job to see these imperfections and to point them out to society. Academics are all just glorified complainers. But it is through being critical that society advances and we as human beings become more civilized. It is an ongoing and indefinite process. Like an annoying parent, academics have a special place in our world to critique the human experience from their ivory towers (where have you heard that before?). Perhaps that is why many common people feel a sense of distance and loathing toward the aloofness and impracticalities of the academic world.
But as my PhD advisor has demonstrated, just because the job requires one to be critical, doesn’t mean that you have to embrace that ethos in your private life and your day-to-day interactions. I think that’s not something that most people can do (to just turn off on cue), but the academic who can do that is truly an effective one–and human being for that matter–because he or she understands that the job is not your identity. No person, unless you’re a teenager, should be expected to uphold that sort of idealism for longer than it takes to finish a manuscript. Idealism is something that we as a society should aspire toward. It is not meant for the individual human being. Let that sink in for a moment.
The Ivory Tower 
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