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The scientific process, in its ideal form, is elegant: Ask a question, set up an objective test, and get an answer. Repeat. Science is rarely practiced to that ideal. But Copernicus believed in that ideal. So did the rocket scientists behind the moon landing.
But nowadays, our respondents told us, the process is riddled with conflict. Scientists say they're forced to prioritize self-preservation over pursuing the best questions and uncovering meaningful truths.
Today, scientists' success often isn't measured by the quality of their questions or the rigor of their methods. It's instead measured by how much grant money they win, the number of studies they publish, and how they spin their findings to appeal to the public.
Scientists often learn more from studies that fail. But failed studies can mean career death. So instead, they're incentivized to generate positive results they can publish. And the phrase "publish or perish" hangs over nearly every decision. It's a nagging whisper, like a Jedi's path to the dark side.
"Over time the most successful people will be those who can best exploit the system," Paul Smaldino, a cognitive science professor at University of California Merced, says.
Many scientists have had enough. They want to break this cycle of perverse incentives and rewards. They are going through a period of introspection, hopeful that the end result will yield stronger scientific institutions. In our survey and interviews, they offered a wide variety of ideas for improving the scientific process and bringing it closer to its ideal form.
Before we jump in, some caveats to keep in mind: Our survey was not a scientific poll. For one, the respondents disproportionately hailed from the biomedical and social sciences and English-speaking communities.
Many of the responses did, however, vividly illustrate the challenges and perverse incentives that scientists across fields face. And they are a valuable starting point for a deeper look at dysfunction in science today.
The 7 problems identified are:
1) Academia has a huge money problem
2) Too many studies are poorly designed
3) Replicating results is crucial — and rare
4) Peer review is broken
5) Too much science is locked behind paywalls
6) Science is poorly communicated
7) Life as a young academic is incredibly stressful
It seems to me, that, much of this is already known to most scientists. However, this cycle of publish or perish continues unabated. What do you think should be done to change this mindset ?
http://www.vox.com/2016/7/14/12016710/science-challeges-research-funding-peer-review-process
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 18 2016, @04:23AM
Oh boo hoo. Try being a garbageman.
(Score: 3, Touché) by MostCynical on Monday July 18 2016, @04:46AM
How, exactly, is a garbageman's work stressful? Dirty and smelly, sometimes physically strenuous..
Where is the stress?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 18 2016, @04:51AM
You're not collecting the garbage fast enough. If you were doing your job right, I wouldn't even see you. I do not want to see you. Collect my garbage faster so I don't have to look at you! Faster!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 18 2016, @05:06AM
Where is the stress?
Oversized, hernia inducing loads that fuckheads leave out on the curb?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 19 2016, @07:40AM
I was quite pleased to see the new design of collection trucks our local agency (CR&R ) purchased... all the cans are the same size, and have ridges in just the right place for a robotic arm to grapple, hoist, dump into the truck, and replace, all in one smooth operation.
The driver never needs to leave his cab... he drives from can to can like a bee visiting flowers.
It bugged me for years seeing people having to personally deal with those smelly trash cans often leaking trash juice.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 18 2016, @02:18PM
It thought that was a very strange comment as well. Maybe GP meant strenuous.
It's taken me a while to realize, but I would much rather have a physically strenuous job than a stressful one. Get paid to stay in shape, and when the job's done you have something concrete to point at and the job's done. No sleepless nights tossing and turning wondering whether this person or that person is trying to stab you in the back during the current plot arc of everybody's favorite day-time soap opera, Office Politics.
I will note however that some jobs could be rethought to prevent repetitive stress injuries. But even then, hell. You get to go on disability. These days you get access to weed too. Mission accomplished. Nobody gets to go on disability or have weed when they just simply can't bear a single motherfucking day of pointless office politics and bullshit drama.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Monday July 18 2016, @02:43PM
"Dirty and smelly" means that:
- They go home every single day smelling like garbage. Now, if that were just once a week or something, that would be one thing, but do that every single day and your house is going to stink too.
- Because you and your house is going to stink, good luck finding a partner and having kids, if that's something you want to do with your life.
- Forget running errands or something after work until you've gotten home and had a shower, for the same reason.
"Sometimes physically strenuous" means that:
- Any day on the job, you could end up with a career-ending injury.
Also, something you didn't mention: All those nasty and sometimes dangerous substances that people throw out? Guess who gets to deal with them?
My experience, borne out by talking to all sorts of people with many different kinds of jobs, is that the only truly stress-free job in existence is retirement, and then only if the person in question has enough money socked away to know they won't run out.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 19 2016, @12:58AM
I imagine several of these posters havent worked long hour blue collar jobs. Lot of places treat you like a dog. And you can get blackballed really fast since most low skilled jobs like that are easily replaceable.
Try standing on your feet 10 hours a day 6 days a week. And when theres nothing to do you got to look busy. When there is its a fire and you got do something with nothing.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday July 19 2016, @02:58PM
Hear hear!
One of the toughest jobs I ever had was restaurant dishwasher - shifts were open to close (11:30 AM to whenever I was done with the last dish), and I had to keep up with the pace of the kitchen and the diners no matter how many we got. And of course in theory I was supposed to get a break and some meals on the job, but that frequently didn't end up actually happening. As an additional challenge, as the first English-speaking dishwasher they'd had for a while, unofficially I was the emotional support for waitstaff who were dealing with really bad customers (e.g. the waitress who was pissed about the customer repeatedly grabbing her tush).
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.