Worth a glance #7

Put that laptop away. Clay Shirky. This will run and run.

No profit left behind. I am afraid I have a visceral dislike of companies such as Pearson (despite reading the Economist and the FT). Ever since I learned that the UK Royal College’s now use Pearson testing centres for their professional exams, I have despaired at the way non-profits and the public sector lack any faith in their own ability to build things, or to realise that openness benefits all who embrace it. Copyrighting curriculums etc. It is obscene— and unnecessary. And, yes, I think the profit motive is not applicable to all human endeavour.

Stealth research, by John P. A. Ioannidis. I like the term, but is it really apposite? Anyway, much innovation has always taken place outside the formal literature. Arguably the biggest change in my clinical discipline in my career has been based on a certain degree of trial and error, and people copying others (in a good way). As Sam Shuster said, serious science takes over from relevance (sometimes, anyway).

Another couple of (here and here) papers on what is facing those who plan a career in biomedical science. I am not convinced by any of the solutions offered. But I do like the LENS format of PNAS papers— a real pleasure to read online.