Call It Sour Grapes

I got my Ph.D. in economics from Princeton in 1997.  Twenty-three years after graduation, I remain a professor at a mid-ranked school.  The odds that I’ll ever get a job at a top-20 department look awfully low.  How do I feel about this situation?

The socially approved response, at least within social science, is to feel and express deep admiration for the plainly superior researchers at top schools.  I’m supposed to defer to their judgment on not only (a) which research methods are kosher, but ...