I’m not a philosopher, but one line struck me: that academics are pressured to write for publication, not to be *read*.

Since leaving an academic post last year, I’ve done nothing but write to be read. Journal publication no longer a big stress. And it’s wonderful. Liberating. https://twitter.com/patrickc/status/1288681528143130630

My priority had always been my larger projects - my books on the Society of Arts, and on the Industrial Revolution. But I felt constant pressure to write papers. I was asked literally all the time why I wasn’t, as though books were a waste of time, professionally risky.

And frankly, they were. I suppose if I’d put all my energies into writing what I didn’t want to write - submitting and resubmitting a bunch of papers to good journals - then I might still have my academic job. And it was devastatingly disappointing, at the time, to lose it.

But the moment I left, it actually felt like a huge weight off my shoulders. I now couldn’t be happier to have my book out, to have the space to write another pretty much full-time, and to write ~ every week for thousands of people who subscribe to my research updates.

Carving out this “alt-academia” career is obviously very risky. And may not be for everyone - so my experience may not replicate, and probably shouldn’t be extrapolated from. But so far, I’m having the time of my life. It feels great to write to be read!

First time I’ve been public about losing my job. I admit, I was embarrassed at the time. A temporary contract that didn’t turn into a permanent one, given to someone else. I turned down a 1 year extension. But it was a blessing in disguise, clarifying what I really wanted to do.

Anyway. Enough personal experiences of academia. Go read a thread about steam engines or something. https://twitter.com/antonhowes/status/1288499522604355584?s=21 https://twitter.com/antonhowes/status/1288499522604355584