"I only hire people smarter than me" sparks debate on academic mentorship
Pseudomanifold · x · 2026-11-05
A debate over PhD hiring criteria is circulating on X:
- A professor (@DrDarkMatter) stated his hiring criterion is simple: only take on PhD students and postdocs who are smarter than him
- A reply challenged why anyone smarter would want to work under him in the first place
- @noahatwhere pushed back with a long post: supervision shouldn't be an intellectual superiority contest — a professor's job is to recognize talent, mentor, secure resources, and help young researchers become independent
- His blunt takeaway: if your ego can't tolerate students surpassing you, reconsider mentoring anyone
The thread has drawn wide discussion about power dynamics and mentorship in academia.
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