>>13161976I understand what you are saying, and you are not entirely wrong, but you are somewhat wrong.
Money is important. I have lived in poverty. Never again. It fucking sucks. However, that doesn't mean you have to be rich to be happy. You need enough to be comfortable. Which i am. I have a home, a car, food on the table, and i can even spend some money on my hobbies.
Your second point was about my "clinging to my field". Once again, you are partially right. Research would be done without me, and it would move forward without me. True. But i am one of few people in this rather niche area of research. I don't understand how you think researchers are not important, or i, one of those researchers am not important to the advancment of said field. Your military analogy is incorrect in that the americans bosting about their military often aren't a part of the it. It would be a different storry if an officer were to boast (in my case, for now, a low ranking officer to be fair, but an officer non the less).
As for your problem with doctors, healthcare is free here (not free, i have to pay taxes), so thats not a problem i'm going to face.
Your last point on flexibility, is entirely correct. As is your point of friends walking all over you if you are naive. That is something i have struggled with, but one learns to cut off shitty people. Flexibility requires savings (i'm working on it, but i'm too young, too early in my career to hav gotten far in that regard, my safety net for now, is my well off, middle class family).
I know you aren't trying to be a dick, you just seem like you cant believe some one would genuinely love what they do, and not be concerned with being rich. That is not maturity. That is depression, or a pessimistic outlook.