Scientists spend too much time taking “professional selfies”.

A paper from PNAS describes what it takes to be a scientist today. Key points (that I always emphasize myself):

#AcademicTwitter @AcademicChatter #research 1. Scientists have a new mode of activity: “being online”
- Constant distractions and external stimulation inhibit creativity and deep thinking
- “Thinking out of the box” has become rare because the Internet is itself a box.

“Oh, really?” - a typical sarcastic reaction on social media.

However I urge to look at the original study and data more carefully. 👇

#phdchat #AcademicTwitter #research - A disruptive paper is defined here by the likelihood that this paper (and not the references inside it) will be cited by subsequent studies.

- In contrast, a consolidating paper is the one that is less likely to be cited than its predecessors. It consolidates the discovery.

Yes, as a PI, you can publish more papers by pushing your students/postdocs really hard. But NO, those extra papers will not make your life better.

#science #research #AcademicTwitter They will just make everyone unhappier:
- Your team members will feel burned out and depressed
- Journal editors will feel like there’s another manuscript that no one is willing to review

Advice for #PhD students who want to become postdocs and stay in #academia:
- How to choose a lab for a postdoc
- How to prepare for an interview
- What to be careful about

Thread: 🧵

[I was a happy postdoc at Stanford]

#AcademicTwitter #engineering #science Initial steps:

1. Decide on how far you want to move away from your PhD topic. Keep in mind:
- If your #postdoc research is distant, you will need more time to gain expertise and do competitive work

PhD students don’t want to be postdocs. Faculties are leaving academia... Intriguing discussions are published by both Nature and Science.
Key points are:

#science #research #engineering #academia #PhD #AcademicTwitter 1. U.S.-based researchers reported challenges recruiting in all #STEM fields: “This year … we received absolutely zero response from our posting,” one wrote. “The number of applications is 10 times less than 2018-2019,” another wrote.