This situation is in combination with the longstanding disconnect between academic researchers and applied sciences folks. I say “disconnect” as if that were a two way street, but most of the spherical cow thinkers are on the academic side. People doing real work bristle at their lack of exposure to reality. I worked while still in school and the difference was literally and figuratively night and day. I quickly became an informed consumer and it meant that sometimes in class I was sitting on my hands to keep from disagreeing with the teachers about why something is done a certain way. It was shocking how often they were wrong, and occasionally ass backward. Ultimately I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

But season this old recipe heavily with some “fuck around and find out” and things get pretty spicy.