> The entire point of academia is to extend the current state of knowledge.

Maybe it once was but for the vast majority of people who enter academia the enter point is to increase their take home pay throughout their life.

Academia isnt some noble endeavor but a desperate game that people play in an attempt to win enough money that they can comfortably live their meager lives and hopefully raise their children to have better lives than they had.

Until economic necessity is decoupled from participating in the academic process the idea that academia serves some kind of abstract goal like the persuit of knowledge will remain an elaborate lie that people tell themselves to justify their life choices regarding academia.