tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post6141292740244535376..comments2024-03-27T14:50:47.345-04:00Comments on <center>Sandwalk</center>: The scientific literature is becoming more complexLarry Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-74660156149541855412016-07-10T22:51:55.949-04:002016-07-10T22:51:55.949-04:00"What concerns me more is the tendency to glo..."What concerns me more is the tendency to gloss over the limitations and possible misinterpretations of complex data analyses."<br /><br />Oh boy, god knows I can relate to this one... :(<br /><br />DKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04761138604438222762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-32566496343728205332016-07-04T08:19:42.536-04:002016-07-04T08:19:42.536-04:00@Jonathan Badger, despite its broad use, microscop...@Jonathan Badger, despite its broad use, microscopy remains a specialized technique/technology. As a microscopist I spend a lot of my time pulling out my hair when I read the literature, as people are not aware of the limitations of microscopy, and therefore draw inappropriate/impossible conclusions from their images. Improvements in the tech has made it easy to use; significant expertise is still required for interpretation - which I think was one of Larry's main points.<br /><br />The one point that wasn't made in the article is the very negative effect this increase in APU has had on early and early-middle career investigators. Given the limited budgets these groups face, it can be very difficult to achieve the degree of productivity expected for tenure/promotion/grant renewal/first grant/etc - especially given that many of those standards are based on historical norms. My first paper as a PI had nearly 3X the data of my first paper as a PhD student, and took nearly 3X the time to produce - despite appearing in the exact same journal.Bryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16672407110077541595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-31801126411375488312016-07-03T21:04:59.296-04:002016-07-03T21:04:59.296-04:00Indeed. It is meaningless to attempt to distinguis...Indeed. It is meaningless to attempt to distinguish the two. Microscopy, and hence the basis of our knowledge of cells, was once a "specialized technology" -- arguably electron microscopy still is. Likewise knowledge of crystallography and NMR which we all rely on to get molecular structures, although most of us couldn't say exactly how. Computational methods, which Larry seems to be uncomfortable with, are simply another branch of knowledge which some people have more familiarity with than others but which we all rely on in the modern era.Jonathan Badgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04921990886076027719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-26954611604531683952016-07-03T18:41:45.468-04:002016-07-03T18:41:45.468-04:00What is your opinion based on Larry? The last pape...What is your opinion based on Larry? The last paper you have published or the one before that? Jmachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04392421995310271733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-71157503524386586062016-07-03T18:29:53.248-04:002016-07-03T18:29:53.248-04:00Can you make that distinction more precise? As far...Can you make that distinction more precise? As far as I can tell, the issue is specialized knowledge, a part of which is knowledge about specific methods.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04521153536420798640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-56312981800183816632016-07-03T18:02:43.787-04:002016-07-03T18:02:43.787-04:00That's not what I mean about specialization. T...That's not what I mean about specialization. The problem isn't specialized knowledge, it's specialized technology. Larry Moranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05756598746605455848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37148773.post-32446165715278883852016-07-03T12:02:22.329-04:002016-07-03T12:02:22.329-04:00I'd recommend reading Andrew Robinson's &q...I'd recommend reading Andrew Robinson's "The Last Man Who Knew Everything" about the 18th century polymath Thomas Young, who was a productive scientist in biology, medicine, physics, and even linguistics. The trend towards specialization has been going on for centuries. It's inevitable that the more we know, the smaller percentage of it any one person can know.Jonathan Badgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04921990886076027719noreply@blogger.com