> If today’s successful academics habitually work late in the laboratory, they’re likely to advocate that the next generation does the same.
If all successful academics work late, then advocating others do the same seems reasonable?
In my experience in academia, it is the former. Working late has more to do with rites of passage than with successful research. When a colleague of mine defended his thesis and was looking for faculty positions, he listed a whole bunch of crappy things he had to do to appease his advisor, and said that he'll make his students do the same. When I asked him why, he said "If I have to go through crap, so should they."
And it seems particular important to define what constitutes "success" (is it getting a PhD or actually doing something useful with it?) and the means to obtain it (does it depend on the approval of said late-working academics, who therefore may be inclined to reward others who share their beliefs that working late merits rewarding?)
The prey that a human is trying to hunt isn't gonna be up after sundown. Ancient humans can't hunt or forage or farm things late into the night.
What are humans build to do? And do we have an obligation to do what we are built for? Should I start persisting hunting [1] my meals? Should all my decision be dictated towards minimizing physical and mental health issues?