Increasing Scientific Progress and Improving Institutions with Alexey Guzey
Dec 31, 2020
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Alexey Guzey, an independent researcher, discusses improving scientific institutions, decentralization of funding in life sciences, disagreements with thinkers like Tyler Cowen, limitations of GDP as a measure of progress, critique of effective altruism, and the relationship between effective altruism and Christianity.
To improve scientific institutions, it is important to run small experiments and explore different ways to fund science, as well as involve more small organizations in distributing funding.
Decentralization is crucial in the science funding domain, allowing multiple organizations to compete and experiment with different funding approaches, leading to the funding of more interesting research.
Deep dives
Improving Scientific Institutions
The guest, Alexi Guzi, aims to make institutions of science work better and build better scientific institutions. He acknowledges the problems with scientific institutions that people commonly mention, such as peer review, the journal system, and grant processes. However, he emphasizes that these issues require a deep understanding of the complexities of the scientific ecosystem. To improve existing institutions, Guzi suggests running small experiments and trying different ways to fund science, as well as involving more small organizations in distributing funding.
The Importance of Decentralization
Guzi argues that decentralization is crucial in the science funding domain, particularly in life sciences funding. He highlights that the dominance of a single funding organization, like the NIH, limits experimentation and innovation. By having multiple organizations competing and experimenting with different funding approaches, Guzi believes that more interesting research can be funded.
Misunderstandings about Scientific Institutions
Guzi points out that people often misunderstand scientific institutions due to a lack of attention to detail and an oversimplification of the system. For instance, the perception of the age at which researchers receive independent funding is often skewed. While it may seem discouraging that scientists usually secure significant funding later in their careers, Guzi explains that much of the funding is actually used by students and postdocs working under established scientists. He also notes the power dynamics in academia and the limitations caused by hierarchical structures.
Evaluating Scientific Progress and Institutions
Guzi highlights the challenges of evaluating scientific progress and the effectiveness of scientists, both at an individual and macro level. He emphasizes the difficulty of measuring productivity and the significance of scientific output. He argues that encapsulating the importance and impact of research goes beyond traditional metrics and that the value of certain advancements may not be immediately evident. Guzi also suggests that academia could benefit from allowing more complementary partnerships between researchers to enhance collaboration and productivity.
Increasing Scientific Progress and Improving Institutions with Alexey Guzey
Alexey Guzey (@alexeyguzey), independent researcher, joins Erik on this episode to discuss:
- His thoughts on how to make scientific institutions work better.
- What people get wrong most often when analyzing institutions.
- How he would change the FDA and academia.
- Why people under appreciate scientific progress.
- Where he agrees or disagrees with Tyler Cowen, Peter Thiel, Patrick Collison, and
- What he thinks about Effective Altruism.
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