When scientists behave like spammers.
What’s the link between our economic woes and being able to do science?
Last week I discussed “Why Science Is Broken (and how to fix it).” I got some interesting responses, but one in particular is worth noting. This fellow wrote to me with his story of woe while trying to get some of his alternative theories accepted in the physics community. His bottom line was this: “as…
Bell Labs was a remarkable enterprise which, according to Wikipedia, contributed to the development of cell phones, wlan (wifi), semiconductors, compression algorithms, and many more developments that changed the way people interact with technology. Bell Labs worked well because they brought together innovative thinkers, and let them innovate. People there didn’t have to write grant…
What Bob Dylan sang 47 years ago is still true – especially for the scientific endeavor. We can see many signs of changes occurring on the US side of the pond:
The world is going to collapse into chaos (and the scientific establishment with it). It’s a fairly common belief, based on a simple premise: People are bad and they will ruin the planet. We’ll destroy all the ecosystems, use up all the oil, and then we’ll be done. Game over.
Guest post from Dr Nigel Eastmond, a medical writer. I come to you today from the Dark Side of the Force. My Star Destroyer is parked outside and it runs on a potent mix of misery and death, but at least it’s paid for. Excuse me while I remove my Stormtrooper helmet and introduce myself…
Einstein, Edison and da Vinci were, simply put, lucky. They had the perfect combination of genetics and environment, not often duplicated, and certainly not intentionally so. That’s because creativity and innovation can’t be trained.
Morgan‘s posts about careers, science and science funding seem to strike nerves with some of our readers. One thing Morgan hasn’t addressed, although I’m sure it’s on her list, is leadership. We’ve just published an evaluation of an article in the Harvard Business Review, The Wise Leader, in their ‘The Big Idea’ series. The two…
“You are losing any semblance of scientific credibility.” That quote is from an email I received this morning, in response to a message I sent out to some folks on my email list. What was in my message that provoked such a strong response? Speculations about alien landings in Nebraska? Discussions of Big Foot sightings?…
