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points by clickety_clack 3 days ago | 0 comments

I think, sadly, these fields will collapse further into a tighter in-group. Anyone outside that group will find it increasingly hard to penetrate. Talent won’t get you there anymore.

[–] dingdongditchme 2 days ago

From my experience in research this was already the case 15 years ago (and from older peers, way before). Science has always has "in-groups". I forget the name of some philosopher in the 50's who was the opinion science is just a bunch of fads and it takes the old generation to die before a new idea can really be accepted.

[–] rightnutwingjob 2 days ago

“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.” Max Planck 1949

Commonly paraphrased to: The knowledge quest proceeds funeral by funeral.

[–] dingdongditchme 2 days ago

For some reason I doubt Max Planck wrote or said this after his death (1947). The person i meant (maybe it was Kuhn). Either way I think it is too harsh, and many of the scientists I know strive to minimize bias as much as possible.... but I admit it being very hard to break out of conventional thinking and even more so as I age.

[–] mrguyorama 2 days ago

I always find this funny.

Max Planck himself got to watch physics radically change multiple times, through avenues that didn't involve the old guard dying.

[–] NetMageSCW 2 days ago

Kuhn?

[–] dingdongditchme 2 days ago

yea thats the name that was evading me, methinks.

[–] iugtmkbdfil834 2 days ago

But they were already a tight in-group. The difference was that now their combined output can provide additional insights not available before. I don't think that part is a problem. Expertise circles have always existed ( and will likely remain so for a while ).

The issue I am having is how members of the potential in-group is identified.

That said said:

<< Talent won’t get you there anymore.

Talent might not get you to the table, but you can make your own table now if you have useful like minds.