Science and Grants (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 00:37 (5247 days ago) @ xeno6696


> I think the present system works just fine; only time financials are pertinent is if there really IS fraud. 
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> > Read the following review of a book. The system now involves huge amounts of grant money, tightly controlled peer review which can allow for incentuous relationships or even collusion. No, I don't have an exact example, but Google is full of entries under 'science fraud'. Human nature and love of money will obviously produce scoundrels:
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> > http://omega.twoday.net/stories/394532/-
You are missing my point or I'm not making it well enough. This is the last paragraph of the review:-"Most worrisome of all, most of the fraud Judson describes was done by individuals seeking acceptance and advancement in the world of science. Increasingly, a great deal of research is in fact product development; researchers often have more than their egos and grants on the line--a fortune can rest on their results. Judson paints a dark picture of science today, but we may see far darker days ahead as proof and profit become inextricably mixed."-Disclosure of the financial arrangements is not the point. The point is the massive amounts of money in the current grant system will twist some people's scruples. They will try to destroy rivals, or block them in peer group reviews. Humans are not nice folks. The current system itself raises the problems. And this will occur even where it is pure science without product development