The Modern Scientist August 17, 2007
Posted by Bertalan Meskó in Web 2.0, science.trackback
We should all forget about the usual scientist-profile with the strange clothes, wild hair and old glasses. According to the Elementlist.com:
My concern grew out of discussions with non-scientists and their stereotyped views of scientists as isolated, possiby nutty geeks with wild hair.
What is a modern scientist like? A modern scientist
- is modern (I mean new technology, new ideas)
- can communicate with laypeople. They can tell them what they’re working on without using latin/technological/buzzword-like expressions.
- is ready to collaborate via the web (Google Docs; Second Life; Community Sites)
- supports Open Notebook Science
- supports and uses regularly Open Access Journals (PLoS One)
- uses Second Life to teach students from around the world
- writes an own blog
- doesn’t spend hours each week in a library, but uses RSS reader
And so on… I should give you some names, some examples: Craig Venter, Jean-Claude Bradley, Bora Zivkovic… What is your opinion? What is a modern scientist like?
Yes, we can download warez ebooks, stolen from the press or scanned by one of us. With the help of talented hackers we can access databases like ScienceDirect, Web of Science anywhere, anytime. That’s what modern scientists do. More & more phd students joins day by day, from aorund the world. Underground biology and chemistry have began. Our aims are just the same as public science but we hate it’s limitians and slowness by the laws, patents and other thingies. We welcome initiations like PlosOne and others, we love them. Science really need theese ones to survive.
Second Life is an eyecandy with unnecessary elements for scientific education or communication. I think a videoconference call with Skype ist just enough for this. Being modern with modern clothes? Nonsense. New ideas? You write that like before scientist had never had new ideas! Your order is very awful. It’s just like you say that a scientist in a nice suit with iphone in his/her hands but less ideas will be more succesful than any other one. Very absurd.
Real scientists don’t need blogs, they simply write articles to journals.
Ps. The internet is also good for porn and have a look at what eScience means.
Zed, thank you for the comment! I don’t say a modern scientist must use all of these. A modern scientist must be open for these. That’s all.
your great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:p
w0w awesOme..!