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Why Hiring the ‘Best’ People Produces the Least Creative Results

Why Hiring the ‘Best’ People Produces the Least Creative Results

If you want to explore things you haven’t explored, having people who look just like you and think just like you is not the best way. We must see the forest, thinks Scott Page collegiate professor of complex systems, and author of the book  book "The Diversity Bonus".

Cheating on my Mentor

Cheating on my Mentor

For the first 2 years of my Ph.D. program, my primary adviser was always available when I needed help, promptly responding to emails and meeting with me when questions arose. But that abruptly changed when he went on sabbatical and left the country.

Science Is Universal and Unifying

Science Is Universal and Unifying

It is the universality of science, coupled with a love for knowledge and understanding shared by all humanity, that gives science its power to transcend cultural and other differences. By Fabiola Gianotti, Director General, CERN.

Why Academic Journals Need to Go

Why Academic Journals Need to Go

In his fantastic Peters Memorial Lecture on occasion of receiving CNI’s Paul Evan Peters award, Herbert Van de Sompel of Los Alamos National Laboratory described my calls to drop subscription.

Should we Steer Clear of the Winner-Takes-All Approach?

Should we Steer Clear of the Winner-Takes-All Approach?

Scientists in New Zealand held the first ‘Kindness in Science’ workshop in December 2017 at the University of Auckland, hoping to kick-start a movement that will offer a kinder, gentler and more inclusive scientific culture. The group’s mantra is “Everyone here is smart and kind — don’t distinguish yourself by being otherwise.”

A Big Brother Future for Science Publishing?

A Big Brother Future for Science Publishing?

The leaders of Elsevier have now decided that the epoch of journals will soon be over, argues the former editor of the BMJ.

To Have and Have Not: The Drama of EU Research Funding Enters Its next Act

To Have and Have Not: The Drama of EU Research Funding Enters Its next Act

More EU ministers and commissioners are voicing support for bigger research and innovation funding - but the political argument is a long way from won. To win the case for more funding, innovation fans are going to have to talk, not abstractly, but concretely.​

The Concept of Research Impact Pervades Contemporary Academic Discourse – But What Does It Actually Mean?

The Concept of Research Impact Pervades Contemporary Academic Discourse – But What Does It Actually Mean?

Research impact is often talked about, but how clear is it what this term really means? The authors highlight four core elements that comprise most research impact definitions and propose a new conceptualisation of research impact relevant to health policy.

Why an Open Mind on Open Science Could Reshape Human Knowledge

Why an Open Mind on Open Science Could Reshape Human Knowledge

There is a serious lack in sharing material/resources that are used to creating the building-blocks of a research experiment.

ReMediate Your Research: Taking Your Scholarship Public

ReMediate Your Research: Taking Your Scholarship Public

Tips for grad students: the options for communicating your research beyond the dissertation or journal article are nearly endless and range from video games to comic books, but two of the easiest to work with are podcasts and infographics.

Pharma Could Cut Its Losses with a Bit of Sharing

Pharma Could Cut Its Losses with a Bit of Sharing

Efforts to engage life science companies in open innovation have been hampered by the industry’s continued reticence to share. The result is shrinking pipelines, a wave of drug patent expirations ending in sudden drops in revenue, and poorly served public health.

Is Reproducibility Really Central to Science?

Is Reproducibility Really Central to Science?

The Neuroskeptic commentary on a new paper by Chris Drummond about the ‘reproducibility movement’. Assuming that what really matters is the testability of a given hypothesis, how fundamental is reproducibility to science?

Can Science Save Humanity? The Debate Between HG Wells and George Orwell Is Still Relevant Today

Can Science Save Humanity? The Debate Between HG Wells and George Orwell Is Still Relevant Today

There is no shortage of problems facing humankind. What role science has in tackling them has long been debated.