Have you read James Heathers here in Substack, he does analysis, he calls it Forensics of Scientific Articles, has some Software, he is good at spotting fraud, forgery, I am not entirely clear. I don´t know the Guy. Maybe you might be interested.
This is a great post! I come from a medical field background where this is very common. I’ve been reading more new cs papers and it strikes me how many are mostly preprints, follow the structure: problem, idea, maybe the solution? no fluff and the author line is like 3-4 people at most. There are papers in medicine with more authors than patients in the study itself! Great read
"All it takes to turn things around is that more people wake up to the fact that they too can do science."
Agree completely, and such people do exist, although the number is quite small. One of them was British scientist James Lovelock, who invented the electron capture detector (ECD). The first prototype of the ECD was made on the kitchen table of Lovelock’s home, with electronic components purchased from vendors in downtown London.
Lovelock was also the first scientist to raise alarm about the Ozone layer depletion. The National Environment Research Council (NERC) was going to send a research team to Antarctica aboard the Shackleton. Lovelock asked for a small grant to measure dimethyl sulphide, methyl iodide, and CFCs aboard the research ship. The academic review committee rejected his proposal. Fortunately, the staff members at NERC thought that the project was good and were prepared to pay for the fare. The equipment cost was generously borne by Mrs. Lovelock who broke out the grocery money. Thus, the research that eventually led to the discovery of depletion of Ozone layer was carried out at the cost of few hundred pounds. Molina, Rolland, and Crutzen received Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of Ozone layer depletion in 1996.
I had to think of Shannon's paper A Mathematical Theory of Communication as I was reading your piece. I don't think that style of paper is completely lost - I read a lot of papers, and I've read some which capture the old way. But it tends to be reserved for people who are already at the top and no longer need to play the game.
I completely agree with you, but I'm scared. How can you escape the system, when you depend on supervisors that want to publish and to have the work taken "seriously", which means following this nonsensical rules of prestige.
Thank you for sharing
I laughed a lot, it´s a great Post.
Have you read James Heathers here in Substack, he does analysis, he calls it Forensics of Scientific Articles, has some Software, he is good at spotting fraud, forgery, I am not entirely clear. I don´t know the Guy. Maybe you might be interested.
https://substack.com/@jamesclaims
This is a great post! I come from a medical field background where this is very common. I’ve been reading more new cs papers and it strikes me how many are mostly preprints, follow the structure: problem, idea, maybe the solution? no fluff and the author line is like 3-4 people at most. There are papers in medicine with more authors than patients in the study itself! Great read
"All it takes to turn things around is that more people wake up to the fact that they too can do science."
Agree completely, and such people do exist, although the number is quite small. One of them was British scientist James Lovelock, who invented the electron capture detector (ECD). The first prototype of the ECD was made on the kitchen table of Lovelock’s home, with electronic components purchased from vendors in downtown London.
Lovelock was also the first scientist to raise alarm about the Ozone layer depletion. The National Environment Research Council (NERC) was going to send a research team to Antarctica aboard the Shackleton. Lovelock asked for a small grant to measure dimethyl sulphide, methyl iodide, and CFCs aboard the research ship. The academic review committee rejected his proposal. Fortunately, the staff members at NERC thought that the project was good and were prepared to pay for the fare. The equipment cost was generously borne by Mrs. Lovelock who broke out the grocery money. Thus, the research that eventually led to the discovery of depletion of Ozone layer was carried out at the cost of few hundred pounds. Molina, Rolland, and Crutzen received Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discovery of Ozone layer depletion in 1996.
https://rajksite.com/james-lovelock-living-life-on-your-own-terms/
This is why I can’t even get my papers on arXiv as an independent researcher. Https://trustcyber.ca
I nodded my head multiple times while reading this post. The “couldn’t agree more” expression is apt for this post.
I had to think of Shannon's paper A Mathematical Theory of Communication as I was reading your piece. I don't think that style of paper is completely lost - I read a lot of papers, and I've read some which capture the old way. But it tends to be reserved for people who are already at the top and no longer need to play the game.
I completely agree with you, but I'm scared. How can you escape the system, when you depend on supervisors that want to publish and to have the work taken "seriously", which means following this nonsensical rules of prestige.