4 ms·

I talk with a doctoral candidate in Chemistry regularly about the different paper cultures. It's amazing how different different disciplines are... her accounts

by pnathan 11y ago

I talk with a doctoral candidate in Chemistry regularly about the different paper cultures. It's amazing how different different disciplines are... her accounts of Chemistry is that (I synthesize) they are extremely locked down and research is very much aimed towards granting patents. Knowledge sharing to the broader chemistry community does not appear to be a key goal. It was a huge shock to me, coming from CS: knowledge sharing has such a high value in our community.

Mz 11y ago
I think another issue wrt biology in particular is that there is a great deal of fear about what laymen might do with the info. I have a genetic disorder and have spent 15 years getting myself healthier. Good faith efforts to share what I have learned along the way consistently result in shit shows and ugly personal attacks. I share a lot less these days. On the one hand, I have sympathy for the very real concerns people have about bad (potentially harmful) health information going out. On the other hand, I think the primary reason it is dangerous to begin with is a lack of a culture of vigorous discussion. It is only dangerous if it cannot be thoroughly hashed out. Unfortunately, it seems there is no place where that can happen.
- pnathan 11y ago
  There's a concern there, but that doesn't promote understanding and trust, unfortunately. Elitism is a unpleasantly common accusation...
dnautics 11y ago
consider though that that culture is heavily influenced by the pharma industry (where many PhDs will wind up with productive jobs). Over and over again, the mantra (e.g. [0] [1]) is that "pharma is the one place where IP makes sense", even among IP skeptics. [0] Richard Posner ("pharmaceuticals are the poster child for the patent system.... Most industries could get along fine without patent protection.") http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/07/why-there-are-too-many-patents-in-america/259725/ http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/07/why-ther... [1] Notch "I would personally prefer it to have those be government funded (like with CERN or NASA) and patent free as opposed to what’s happening with medicine, but I do understand why some people thin[k] patents are good in these areas." http://notch.tumblr.com/post/27751395263/on-patents http://notch.tumblr.com/post/27751395263/on-patents
analog31 11y ago
A grad student is really exposed to being "scooped," i.e., to having their project taken up, finished, and published by somebody else. There are even professors who are notorious for this.
- chockablock 11y ago
  Or more commonly, someone who was already working in the area will rush to publish their own work to avoid being scooped themselves.
- pnathan 11y ago
  > A grad student is really exposed to being "scooped," i.e., to having their project taken up, finished, and published by somebody else. There are even professors who are notorious for this. I have no words for my disgust at the lack of honesty that scooping would demonstrate.

by pnathan 11y ago

Mz 11y ago

I think another issue wrt biology in particular is that there is a great deal of fear about what laymen might do with the info. I have a genetic disorder and have spent 15 years getting myself healthier. Good faith efforts to share what I have learned along the way consistently result in shit shows and ugly personal attacks. I share a lot less these days. On the one hand, I have sympathy for the very real concerns people have about bad (potentially harmful) health information going out. On the other hand, I think the primary reason it is dangerous to begin with is a lack of a culture of vigorous discussion. It is only dangerous if it cannot be thoroughly hashed out. Unfortunately, it seems there is no place where that can happen.

pnathan 11y ago
There's a concern there, but that doesn't promote understanding and trust, unfortunately. Elitism is a unpleasantly common accusation...

dnautics 11y ago

consider though that that culture is heavily influenced by the pharma industry (where many PhDs will wind up with productive jobs). Over and over again, the mantra (e.g. [0] [1]) is that "pharma is the one place where IP makes sense", even among IP skeptics. [0] Richard Posner ("pharmaceuticals are the poster child for the patent system.... Most industries could get along fine without patent protection.") http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/07/why-there-are-too-many-patents-in-america/259725/ http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/07/why-ther... [1] Notch "I would personally prefer it to have those be government funded (like with CERN or NASA) and patent free as opposed to what’s happening with medicine, but I do understand why some people thin[k] patents are good in these areas." http://notch.tumblr.com/post/27751395263/on-patents http://notch.tumblr.com/post/27751395263/on-patents

analog31 11y ago

A grad student is really exposed to being "scooped," i.e., to having their project taken up, finished, and published by somebody else. There are even professors who are notorious for this.

chockablock 11y ago
Or more commonly, someone who was already working in the area will rush to publish their own work to avoid being scooped themselves.
pnathan 11y ago
> A grad student is really exposed to being "scooped," i.e., to having their project taken up, finished, and published by somebody else. There are even professors who are notorious for this. I have no words for my disgust at the lack of honesty that scooping would demonstrate.