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Ok, this story in TheScientist is just a collection of he-said/she-said accounts. But it reminded me of yet another negative consequence of the current developments in the science community, besides scientific misconduct: a rise in the incidence of paranoia. Now regardless of the veracity of the published story, any scenario similar to this one will be more and more common as the stakes are raised and the differences between the scientific have's and have-not's enlarge:Sower called the police when she saw Laudano walking around the building at 5:30 in the morning. Laudano had parked in the loading zone to take food for his research students up to his lab but realized his keycard did not work on that side of the building. He had to walk around the building to get in, and when he came back to his car the police were waiting for him. Sower remarked in that police report that she was suspicious of Laudano and thought he might do something to her laboratory or students. In 2002, Laudano added, Sower called the police because she suspected that someone was tampering with the freezer in her lab. Authorities came to question both Laudano and Collins. The freezer was locked under a combination lock in a laboratory to which only Sower had keys. Inspection of the freezer showed that it had spontaneously malfunctioned.
It doesn't take an Einstein to realize that incidences such as these are bound to increase if the current trends continue.
Increased competitiveness, suspicion, false accusations and paranoia are a logical consequence of increased competition when a person's livelihood is at stakes. In a time where more and more research progress depends on teams rather than individuals (solving complex problems in groups), would it not be more prudent to foster a research environment where openness, collaboration and data/resource sharing are rewarded?
Posted on Friday 20 July 2007 - 13:11:47 comment: 0
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