Yeah definitely. I actually work in academia (I guess I wasn't very qualified to speak about SV). But it's the same shtick everywhere. Passion has become an euphemism for soft corporate brain-washing.

I am reminded of this blog article by an ad executive before his death where he raised similar points about his industry:

http://www.lindsredding.com/2012/03/11/a-overdue-lesson-in-p...