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Academic reward | blogjou

Murray Gell-Mann

The Quark and the Jaguar

342/343
20 May 2024

Academic reward


If an academic publishes a novel research result at the forntier of knowledge in science or scholarshipy, he or she may reap a reward in the form of a professorsjip or a promotion, even if the result is later shown to be entirely wrong. However, clarifying the meaning of what has already been done (or picking out what is worth learning from what is not) is much less likely to advance an academic career. Humanity will be much better off when the reward structure is altered so that selection pressures on careers favor the sorting out of information as well as acquisition.