I believe all science fields would benefit of coordination instead of competition. This does not mean some coordinated projects could fail: Human Brain Project was an unmitigated disaster, but that was mostly because of bad leadership and... no coordination. 🧵 Also... 1/ - ThreadSky

massimosandal.bsky.social • 18 days ago

I believe all science fields would benefit of coordination instead of competition.

This does not mean some coordinated projects could fail: Human Brain Project was an unmitigated disaster, but that was mostly because of bad leadership and... no coordination. 🧵

Also... 1/

Reposted from The vOICe vision BCI 😎🧠

Does (neuro)science need an equivalent of the Apollo project of the 1960s, to bring focus and align the bricks in some clear and meaningful direction?

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massimosandal.bsky.social•18 days ago

...some overlap/competition is good, if anything to double-check results. Think LHC: they had two independent teams with two independent detectors to seize the Higgs.

IMHO keeping science as a competition of small teams (that sometimes collaborate) only leads to waste of resources and... 2/

rheamericana.bsky.social•17 days ago

Competition is toxic when it creates "win or die" situations (with "die" as a metaphor of being fired, being marginalized, falling into poverty, etc.).

massimosandal.bsky.social•18 days ago

...a toxic environment, in which big egos and marketing fluff take precedence over reaching scientific objectives and a culture of accountability. Not everything needs an Apollo program or an LHC. But a lot of science would be better if instead of many small independent groups... 3/

massimosandal.bsky.social•18 days ago

...or loose associations of independent groups, we had solid structured projects.

Yeah, they have drawbacks as well, but we went too far in the individualistic directions. 4/4

seeingwithsound.bsky.social•18 days ago

I believe that competition between small teams is not inherently bad at all as long as what they are ultimately competing for is something that is well-defined, structured and beneficial to society and/or science (I bet there were many subcontractors competing for LHC work).

massimosandal.bsky.social•18 days ago

I don't know. I believe the advantages of competition have been far inflated, while the waste of resources it creates have been often forgotten.

seeingwithsound.bsky.social•18 days ago

If "television" had been a strongly coordinated project, I doubt it would have reached the level of perfection, resolution, and low price etc that we have today. Despite lots of near-double work among competitors, it is most likely competition that drove quality up and prices down. A tricky balance.

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