So here’s a reminder:
➡️ If you’re an academic feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone.
➡️ Your rejections do not define your worth.
➡️ The work you do matters — more than most people will ever realize.
And maybe it’s time society

Yet despite all this — the intellectual labor, the emotional resilience, the creativity and persistence — academics are often underpaid and undervalued, especially early in their careers. The societal benefits of research are enormous, but that contribution is not always recognized or rewarded.

From the outside, it seems effortless. Inside, it’s exhausting.And the deeper you go into a field, the more you realize how much you don’t know. Expertise brings curiosity, but also a growing awareness of your limitations. It’s mentally draining, and you can’t just “turn it off” after work.

Your confidence takes hit after hit, and it becomes easy to believe you’re “not enough,” even when you are doing incredible work.
acknowledges that too. What makes it harder is that success is visible, but failure is not. CVs never show the dozens of rejections behind each publication or grant.

In academia, rejection is a weekly experience:
Papers rejected
Grants rejected
Fellowships rejected
Job applications rejected
Even senior researchers face constant rejection — but for junior scholars, the emotional impact is much heavier.

3. The identity of Jack the Ripper
4. The Voynich Manuscript
5. The disappearance of the Sodder children
6. The Dyatlov Pass incident
7. The Zodiac Killer
8. The Bermuda Triangle
9. The Mary Celeste
10. The Tamam Shud case.