It does seem the academics do take it to the extremes. Coming from someone who has spent decades arguing the map/territory contrast, with varieties of mathematicians and scientists.

Safe to say, when the model can no longer be falsified, only patched, it's gone from theory to dogma. Thinking current cosmology.

https://medium.com/predict/the-webb-is-cast-72f2b8ab067d

The fact is that we do exist in this cyclical, feedback generated reality, even if we insist it is linear. Consequently the primary conflict of civilization has been the feedback loop of wealth and power being used to leverage more wealth and power, with no circuit breakers, until societies either collapse, or find ways to rebel, which generally involves a lot of destruction as well.

The tendency in so many areas is to push our sequential processes to the point of reductio ad absurdum and screw over so many people in the process, with no sense of the larger picture, because it doesn't answer to our beliefs.

Efficiency is to do more with less, until we can do everything with nothing.