Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Rich Condit, and Alan Dove
Vincent, Rich, and Alan consider how to reform the scientific enterprise to make it more effective and robust.
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Links for this episode:
- Reforming science: Methodological and cultural reforms (Infect Immun)
- Reforming science: Structural reforms (Infect Immun)
- Sharp rise in retractions (NY Times)
- Vannevar Bush
- TWiV on Facebook
- Letters read on TWiV 184
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Wow! This episode is bookmarked for relistening. I was really drawn into
the scope and frank discussion of core concepts that literally run the
world of science as I have come to know it. I have always admired
Vincent and companies opinion regarding the need for openness and
transparency of science, but
even then I had no idea how incredibly dire the need was until it was
ranked it terms that your average joe could digest. I assumed that the
21st century system for funding, disseminating, and application of
scientific research is primarily based on universally grounded
principles itself and it appears that it is just not so. Competition is
an essential tool for some areas of science, how much did we gain as an
aside because Edison and Teslas ideas fought for supremacy? Never the
less it can also cost us unmeasured leaps in human progress when we
waste effort competing for the same end. Brilliant astronauts and
cosmonauts died fruitlessly because governments define the benefits of
competition as gospel rather then dynamic. Discouraging
cooperation/collaboration of data amongst scientific experts is
irrational far beyond sharing the vapid benefits of prestige and wealth a
hundred times over. In words that make the most sense to a tax payer
like me: why the hell isn’t the science of science based on the science
of science? There is no shades of grey here… A scientist should
believe that data and research is either open source or close minded,
period.
Definitely one of the most eyeopening episodes yet! I’ll share expecting that nothing has changed yet…