I came to a similar conclusion during my masters, with less data and a less well-articulated rationale. I realized that I already had a talent for intellectual bullshittery, and grad school was encouraging it rather than giving me core skills. Looking around at fellow students, the same was true of them, and the competitive environment reinforced this tendency in all of us.

I learned to be more self-critical of my thinking than others were, and to recognize when others weren’t holding me to a higher standard. And I left.