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Carl T. Bergstrom

@carlbergstrom.com

Biology professor at the University of Washington. I study how information flows in biology, science, and society. I wrote a book: *Calling Bullshit*: tinyurl.com/fdcuvd7b I love ravens and crows: tinyurl.com/mr2n5ymk he/him

48.2k followers1.6k following4.5k posts

CTcarlbergstrom.comJun 21, 2024 7:23pm

According to Leo Szilard's short story The Mark Gable foundation, you don't need sophons to halt the process of scientific discovery — grant funding agencies are entirely adequate. www.gipsa-lab.grenoble-inp.fr/~pierre.como...

"I have earned a very large sum of money" - said Mr. Gable, turning to me, 'with
very little work. And now I am thinking of setting up a Trust Fund. I went t o do
something that will really contribute to the happiness of mankind; but it is very
difficult to know what to do with money. When Mr. Rosenblatt told me that you would
be here tonight I asked the Mayor to invite me. I certainly would value your advice."
0
Would you intend to do anything for the advancement of science?" I asked. "No," Mark
Gable said, "I believe scientific progress is too fast as it is." "I share your
feeling about this point," I said with the fervor of conviction, "but then, why not
do something about the retardation of scientific progress?" "That I would very much
like to do," Mark Gable said, "but how do I go about it?

''Well," I said, "I think that should not be very difficult. AB a matter of fact,
I think it would be quite easy. You could set up a Foundation, With an annual endowment of thirty million dollars. Research workers in need of funds could apply for
grants, if they could make out a convincing case. Have ten committees, each composed
of twelve scientists, appointed to pass on these applications. Take the most active
scientists out of the laboratory and make them members of these committees. And the
very best men in the field should be appointed as Chairmen at salaries of $50,000
each. Also have about twenty prizes of $100,000 each for the best scientific papers
of the year. This is just about all you would have to do. Your lawyers could easily
prepare a Charter for the Foundation. As a matter of fact, any of the National
Science Foundation Bills which has been introduced in the 79th and 9oth Congress
could perfectly well serve as a model.

I think you had better explain to Mr. Gable why this Foundation would in fact
retard the progress of science," said a bespectacled young man sitting at the far end
of the table, whose name I didn't get at the time of introduction. 11
It should be obvious" - I said - "First of all, the best scientists would be removed from their
laboratories and kept busy on committees passing on applications for funds. Secondly,
the scientific workers in need of funds will concentrate on problems which are considered promising and are pretty certain to lead to publishable results. For a few
years there may be a great increase in scientific output; but by going after the obvious, pretty soon Science will dry out. Science will become something like a parlor
game. Some things will be considered. interesting, others will not. There will be
fashion Those who follow the fashion will get grants. Those who won't, will not,
and pretty soon they will learn to follow the fashion too."

CTcarlbergstrom.comJun 21, 2024 7:24pm

A few years ago, Kevin Gross and I wrote a paper on basically this notion.

Contest models highlight inherent inefficiencies of scientific funding competitions

Scientists waste substantial time writing grant proposals, potentially squandering much of the scientific value of funding programs. This Meta-Research Article shows that, unfortunately, grant-proposa...

CCcchapman.bsky.socialJun 21, 2024 10:11pm

More paraphrase than fiction.

Carl T. Bergstrom

@carlbergstrom.com

48.2k followers1.6k following4.5k posts