Reinventing Discovery | Michael Nielsen | Talks at Google

TL;DR

Open science initiatives, such as the Polymath Project and Innocentive, have demonstrated the potential for collaborative problem-solving and the efficient sharing of knowledge. However, scientists still face challenges in adopting these practices due to the traditional incentive structures of academia and research funding.

Transcript

Male Presenter: So we're very thrilled to welcome Michael Nielsen today. He's a legend in computer science and one of the pioneers in quantum computing. In fact, he co-wrote the standard text on it. And this document was actually listed in Google scholars -- one of the top-ten most cited physics books of all time which is a pretty weighty distin... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤗 Open science initiatives, such as the Polymath Project and Innocentive, have demonstrated the power of collaboration and knowledge sharing in solving complex problems.
• 🤗 The slow adoption of open science practices is attributed to the traditional incentive structures in academia and research funding, which prioritize publishing papers and obtaining grants.
• 🤗 Grant agencies and organizations can promote open science by implementing open data policies, recognizing nontraditional contributions, and advocating for open access and open data.
• 🔬 Publicly funded science should prioritize open science practices to ensure that research findings are openly accessible and contribute to the greater good.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the Polymath Project, and why was it successful?

The Polymath Project was an open collaborative platform led by mathematician Timothy Gowers. It allowed mathematicians to contribute ideas and solutions to a difficult unsolved mathematical problem. The project was successful because it attracted contributions from leading mathematicians, resulting in the rapid and collaborative development of ideas.

Q: How did ASSET India Foundation use Innocentive to solve technical challenges?

ASSET India Foundation partnered with Innocentive to find a solution to their technical challenge of developing a low-cost, solar-powered, wireless router. They offered a cash prize through Innocentive, attracting contributors with relevant expertise. The winning solution was provided by a software engineer with experience in open source software and solar power systems.

Q: Why has the adoption of open science practices been slow in the scientific community?

The traditional incentives and reward structures in academia and research funding prioritize publishing papers and obtaining grants. Contributions to open science platforms, such as scientific wikis and social networks, are not considered as valuable for career advancement. This lack of incentives discourages scientists from participating in open science practices.

Q: How can grant agencies and other organizations promote open science?

Grant agencies can implement open data policies, requiring researchers to share their data and code openly. They can also recognize nontraditional contributions, such as contributions to scientific wikis and open source projects, as evidence of impact. Organizations like Creative Commons can continue to advocate for open access and open data and work with companies to encourage data sharing.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Polymath Project, led by mathematician Timothy Gowers, successfully used a blog as a platform for collaborative problem-solving in mathematics. The project attracted contributions from leading mathematicians and resulted in the solution of a difficult unsolved problem.

• ASSET India Foundation used the online marketplace for scientific problems, Innocentive, to solve technical challenges related to their work. A cash prize was offered, and a software engineer with relevant expertise won the challenge.

• Despite these successes, the adoption of open science practices, such as scientific wikis and scientific social networks, has been slow due to the lack of incentives for scientists to contribute to these platforms.