My preconceptions here are the reverse - that mundane studies seeking to replicate existing studies to confirm their findings are boring, and as such are not pursued or funded, despite their importance. I understand that 'novel' is being used in a slightly different context here, though.
Bias Against Novelty in Science
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Re: Bias Against Novelty in Science
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
Somewhat novel research is fine, just as long as it conforms to what is expected. Novel AND counter to the expectations of the field is much harder to publish.
sad but very true
Re: Bias Against Novelty in Science
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Obligatory mention of pseudoscience in a topic about real science: check. Might as well hail Deepak Chopra as Einstein reincarnated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Sheldrake
Obligatory knee-jerk accusation of “pseudoscience” at the mention of Sheldrake: check. It’s a topic about overly conservative attitudes in the scientific community. Thanks for demonstrating that tendency with your insulting comment.
He has constructed a New Age world of fantasy based on a fundamentally new type of physical phenomenon that is completely unsupported by physicists.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and he has not delivered such evidence.
Re: Bias Against Novelty in Science
#44If anything I've heard the other thing - that it's hard to get published unless something is novel enough. There's not much interest in studies that just confirm or slightly extend, which is why reproducibility becomes an issue.
Somewhat novel research is fine, just as long as it conforms to what is expected. Novel AND counter to the expectations of the field is much harder to publish.
Re: Bias Against Novelty in Science
#45Good! There should be a bias against new things until the new things are proven to be correct. Optimizing science based on "what do people who want to get tenure want" seems like a great way to be bad at science.
Re: Bias Against Novelty in Science
#46My aunt's been studying the sun magnetic field for decades. She has measured (yes, measured) parts of the sun inner magnetic field (quite complex to do actually). Div(B) not null there. She can't get it published because Maxwell's equations and it's a "new" discovery. Maxwell starts with "in the void", I think we can agreed that centre of the sun is not the void. It is incredible that scientist MEASURING stuff can't…