Yogi Jaeger 💙 @yoginho@spore.social Profile picture
Feb 12, 2020 14 tweets 3 min read Read on X
As you may have noticed, I’ve been a bit obsessed with the topic of academic #mobbing lately. From the stories I hear, it is frighteningly widespread but really hard to pin down & fight. It only thrives in the dark. Maybe it’s time to shine some light on it? /1
I’ve had a conversation with a lawyer this morning about the phenomenon. Here are some interesting insights I’ve taken away from that. /2
Mobbing is hard to pin down because bullies operate in the background, leaving no written traces, spreading a nebulous cloud of disinformation, but no particular points one could respond to. In other words, bullies are cowards. /3
The most widespread type of mobbing is subtle. It does not destroy its target in any direct or obvious way. Instead, it generates a toxic halo of rumour & disinformation that ultimately makes the target untouchable. This ensures that no evidence leads back to the bully. /4
The fact that mobbing is carried out by a group makes in even harder to fight. The target is left in the dark, not only about what the allegations against them are, but also about who is at the source of the bullying. As I said before, bullies are the ultimate cowards. /5
Mobbing includes a whole range of techniques, not only the spreading of rumours & misleading information. It often targets vulnerable associates or collaborators of the target, for instance, by threatening them with vague consequences if they continue working with the target. /6
Alone, those vulnerable associates can do nothing. By coordinating among themselves they at least stand a chance to bring the topic up with the bully. It is hard to deny a charge brought forward by many witnesses. In fact, this is one of the few weak points of bullies. /7
An increasingly common mobbing technique is de-platforming & cancellation, not only online, but also by blocking the target to present their work or opinions at relevant professional conferences, or publishing them in outlets controlled or influenced by the bullies. /8
Bullying is harmful, not only to the individual being targeted, but to whole local & professional communities of scientists. It can poison a whole research field. The only purpose is to maintain the status of the bully, without merit, to the detriment of progress for all. /9
If the target speaks up, they are discredited, ridiculed, or blamed for the conflict in the first place. Because, you know, they are being difficult. This stigmatisation further increases the isolation of the target, because nobody wants to be drawn into a conflict like that. /10
Should the target threaten legal action, the repercussions are severe. Since there is usually no tangible evidence, a defamation counter-suit is easily launched, and often won. Again, the target is caught in a vicious circle. /11
Personally, the best thing you can do in a case of subtle mobbing is to move on and ride out the storm. This can take a lot of time, energy, and patience. Stand above the childish & cowardly behaviour of your bullies. Take ownership. Be better than them. It’s trying. /12
As a community, the best things is to talk about mobbing & bullies with your peers. Not to shame them. Not to get them fired. But to make them stop & reflect on what they’re doing. Mobbing & bullying only thrive in the dark. /13
In the end, by harming their community, bullies are only harming themselves. For this, I pity them & their petty little fears about their own shortcomings & status. Fears they apparently need to take out on others. If you want to be respected, be respectable. Don’t bully. /14

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More from @yoginho

Jan 22
I traveled to Paris to give my philosophy crash course for scientists () to a wonderful group of @lpiparis_ @FIREPhD students, as I do every year.

Contact me if you want to bring this course to your own institute! It's not only fun, but also useful...johannesjaeger.eu/philosophy.html
... allowing you to become a better researcher through philosophy. The course has an interactive, discussion-based format that is based on an online series of lecture which are freely available: .
It helps you reflect on your own scientific practice and world view using a (1) process-based, (2) perspectival-realist, and (3) deliberative approach to the philosophy of science. The course heavily focuses on students' own experiences, practices, and questions.
Read 4 tweets
Oct 10, 2023
New blog post just dropped!

"Assembly theory is cool... but doesn't quite do what its inventors say it does."



reviewing this recent Nature paper:



TL:DR: potentially interesting model, wrapped in utterly misleading packaging.johannesjaeger.eu/blog/assembly-…
nature.com/articles/s4158…
"I think assembly theory has lots of merit and potential, but this particular paper frames its argument in a way which is unfortunate and, frankly, more than just a bit misleading. My personal suspicion is that this has two reasons: (1) the authors hyped up their claims ...
... to get the paper published in a glam journal, plus (2) they also overestimate the reach and power of their model in ways which may be detrimental to its proper application and interpretation."
Read 6 tweets
Sep 9, 2023
Just received my expected rejection from @elife (after appeal).

The way I was rejected reflects the atrocious attitude of the journal & the whole field of biology towards conceptual work.

It also showcases a lack of intellectual integrity on behalf of the journal editors. 🧵
I submitted the paper knowing full well that @eLife usually restricts its scope to empirical work. The idea was to challenge that restriction, since (in my opinion) biology urgently needs a revival of serious conceptual efforts to prevent the descent of the field into pointless..
@eLife ... construction of large data sets that are increasingly costly to produce but yield diminishing returns in terms of insight and understanding into the workings and organization of living systems. Hence, no surprise when my work was deemed "out of scope." That's fair enough.
Read 21 tweets
Jan 19, 2022
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
Read 23 tweets
Feb 19, 2021
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
Read 16 tweets
Dec 13, 2020
Darwinian Gaia: the persister perspective on evolution. aeon.co/essays/the-gai… via @aeonmag
@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!
Read 5 tweets

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