An Artist and a Critic

An artist creates, a critic appreciates. In computer science, the verification of a solution once it is found is considered by many researchers to be easier than finding the solution (that is, many believe P ≠ NP). These researchers also believe that finding a solution would take much longer than verifying it. This supports the (sort of) obvious facts:

- An artist probably has to work much much harder than a critic.

- There are many more critics than artists (more generally, few people would take the more difficult job).

- Why do many people hate to be a boss? A boss verifies while the subordinate creates (this is even truer in cases where subordinates work pretty independent from the boss and do not have to consult them). In this aspect, although the boss earns more, he is doing the easier job. The boss though has his own boss, and he must be creative to handle the aspects he needs to report to his own boss - this is a much bigger responsibility. Many people hate to take more responsibility and at the same time giving up creative work.

- Why do some programmers like to reinvent the wheel? It makes them feel more creative. They fail to realize their creativity would be composing the existing frameworks and libraries and creating new value.

- Why do many go for MBA? MBA is a shortcut to getting rich by applying the well-known methods into practice. The ones who go for MBA are also the ones who like to be the boss. They take more responsibility and sacrifice some creative work.

- Why do some go for research, even though probably they would make more money in industry? They want a work that can make them feel more creative. They also want to stay ahead in time (in terms of what is known).

- Why is there a lot of gap between research and what is applied in the world (at least in AI)? The creators do not want to market and sell. They do not want to look at the real world, which is too ugly for them (unworthy of their time!). Many researchers are theorists and believe their work as the true advancement of human knowledge. The people from industry are too practical and prefer solutions that work now - a task that most researchers do not have time or inclination to do.

- Why is there a lot of opportunities for new startups? There is a huge gap between known research and what is applied in the world. An entrepreneur also has to think creatively what can be sold and to who.