The current #COVID19 media coverage around me seems to agree on three things: (1) there is nothing we can do against #omicron, (2) this variant is mild & the wave will be over soon, (3) we're soon going "endemic," to "live with the virus," & back to normality. /1
There seems to be very little push-back against this narrative, which is something that really surprises me. But worse than that: it does *not* bode well for the next pandemic (whether the next #COVID19 variant or something altogether more worrisome). /2
Re (1): we can't do anything & #ZeroCovid was never an option.
Well, we never really tried. Those few countries that did were isolated (either geographically or surrounded by countries who didn't implement any low-incidence measures). /3
Our second paper on dynamical modularity, "Dynamical Modules in Metabolism, Cell and Developmental Biology" by @NickMonk14 & myself is now available as a preprint: osf.io/rydbn via @OSFramework /1
It complements our earlier evolutionary perspective on the subject (osf.io/vfz4t) with its more regulation-based approach and a long list of practical examples that illustrate our novel conceptual framework for the dynamical decomposition of complex systems. /2
Just like our earlier paper, the argument starts with the following observation: modular phenotypic traits imply that the underlying regulatory processes—the epigenotype of the organism—must be dissociable as well. How to decompose them, however, is not a trivial task. /3
@aeonmag I think this an amazingly refreshing and interesting new view on evolution. For several reasons. What’s even more amazing is that one of the best evolutionary biologists today has completely transformed his view of evolution in light of new evidence. How rarely does this happen?
@aeonmag I have huge respect for W. Ford Doolittle to come forth with this revolutionary change of mind. So much of our field is mired in dogmatic talking past each other. This new approach is a much needed fresh breath of air!
@dav_robbe I didn’t leave academia voluntarily. And I tried to get a traditional academic job back for quite a while. Stockholm syndrome, I guess. I’m also still trying to get funding for my projects. Short-term fellowships work, but no luck with bigger projects so far. /1
@dav_robbe I survive on the odd teaching job and giving workshops (e.g. a primer in philosophy for scientists). In years since I’ve left, I’ve done my best intellectual work. The lack of career constraints is unbelievably liberating. And the lack of bullshit work in committees etc. too… /2
@dav_robbe Academia is an oligarchy. The oligarchs are powerful & uninterested in change. By their own metrics, their science is doing better than ever. For me, most of it has lost all relevance. As you say, our fields are stuck in the wrong paradigm. More of the same, no thank you. /3
I made the mistake of taking on a grant review in my old field of research. The first this year. Much has happened since January. And many of my priorities have changed. A few reflections. /1
After reading the grant proposal, I had to decline the review, because of an intellectual conflict of interest. The proposal was well-written, certainly not uninteresting in terms of proposals in its field, and the applicant was well qualified. /2
But for one, reading through the 30-page proposal made me viscerally sick. All the hours and effort wasted for a 10–15% funding chance. Excessive details, time planning, questions about applicability, and whatnot. All a tremendous waste of time. /3
I just read another one of those “how I overcame writing anxiety and became a more productive writer” threads on #AcademicTwitter. They are a frighteningly frequent thing. A few thoughts. #StockholmSyndrome /1
This latest thread was full of very reasonable advice on how to boost your writing productivity by a researcher who published something like a dozen and a half articles and book chapters over the past year. The implicit claim is that this made them a better writer. /2
But why would you want to optimise your output like this in the first place? What kind of system makes you think this is a good thing? This cult of productivity is driving us insane & it’s also driving academic research into a corner, the corner of the low-hanging fruit. /3