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On the Limited Academy, LABraries, and Formative Figures

On the Limited Academy, LABraries, and Formative Figures

When addressing the possibility of a revival in independent scholarship, one of the most pressing questions hangs over those research disciplines which rely on extensive equipment.

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Scholarly Crisis, New Labs, Old Preprints, and Unexpected Beauty

Scholarly Crisis, New Labs, Old Preprints, and Unexpected Beauty

The authors conclude that current cutting edge deep research models can understand the task they must perform, but are unable to search for and synthesise the information needed to complete it - not surprising to anyone who has interacted with an AI model in the context of research.

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On Academic Gatekeeping, Conceptual Thinness and Publishing Crap

On Academic Gatekeeping, Conceptual Thinness and Publishing Crap

As preprints increasingly become seen as reliable scholarly sources - particularly in fields such as physics and computer science - the value of having such articles on your CV has also increased.

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On Living For Scholarship

On Living For Scholarship

It does not confuse the appearance of a scientific article, with its hypotheses, tests, and conclusions, all neatly laid out, with the ways in which the research was actually carried out.

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On Academic Freedom, Security and Flattery

On Academic Freedom, Security and Flattery

Luxury conferences in the Swiss Alps, featuring cocktail parties and high profile speakers, like the secretary general of the UN, still continue today.

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Should Scholars Think?

Should Scholars Think?

We have more facts than ever and we are continually adding to the stock. But what we do with them after we get them depends on our imagination.

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Visualising, Violating, and Humanizing Scholarship

Visualising, Violating, and Humanizing Scholarship

Three weeks ago, COPE published new guidance for how to handle retractions of published articles - highlighting just how pressing the problem is becoming.

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On Science: Fatigue, Ownership, and It's Soul

On Science: Fatigue, Ownership, and It's Soul

In discussing the extent to which science has met our curiosity about the university, we must remember that different minds are curious about different things.

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The Scholar's Dilemma: single-use AI, reading less, and poor pay

The Scholar's Dilemma: single-use AI, reading less, and poor pay

The job was advertised in Nature and required an honours degree - meaning research experience proven by a thesis - and a minimum of 2 years experience for an annual salary of £155 (roughly equivalent to £8,778.18 or $11,658 in today’s money).

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What if Scholarship Looked Like This?

What if Scholarship Looked Like This?

“A paper that does not have references is like a child without an escort walking in the night in a big city it does not know: isolated, lost, anything may happen to it”

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On Research Performativity, Agreeing Disagreeably, and Degree Inflation

On Research Performativity, Agreeing Disagreeably, and Degree Inflation

The same paper would be rejected by two more top journals before, as an act of desperation, Mojica submitted it to, and it was accepted in, a smaller Q2 ranked journal.

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On Scholarly Algorithms, Arguments, and Objectivity

On Scholarly Algorithms, Arguments, and Objectivity

Upon examining his critique, it was decided to be sufficiently important that Newton be sent a copy immediately - publication of Hooke’s work, however, was to be delayed.