WHEN A GROUP of researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi published a paper in Nature Communications last fall suggesting that young women scientists should seek out men as mentors, the backlash was swift and vociferous. Countless scientists, many of them women, registered their indignation on Twitter—some even penning open letters and More
APS Member/Author: Leah H. Somerville Women are pursuing careers in science at rates never seen before, and this growing representation of female voices is truly exciting. Yet we are well aware that the academic community has not solved all the problems facing women. That’s why we’re using this column to More
APS Member/ Author: Leah H. Somerville True discovery takes time, has many stops and starts, and is rarely neat and tidy. For example, news that the Higgs boson was finally observed in 2012 came 48 years after its original proposal by Peter Higgs. The slow pace of science helps ensure More
How can psychological researchers balance the need to do basic science with their desire to be relevant to the questions and issues of their time? In his classic book‚ Pasteur’s Quadrant: Basic Science and Technological Innovation‚ Daniel Stokes proposes an answer. Cross-cutting two dimensions — a quest for understanding and More
The scientific record has been exploding for some time, and there is nothing that will stop that explosion. And why should there be? It is a great thing for smart people to expand the boundaries of knowledge. But smart people also make mistakes. To explain what I mean, I have More
NPR: When I attended my first scientific conference at the tender age of 20, one of my mentors surprised me with the following bit of advice. Transcribed directly from memory: “You should be sure to attend the talk by so-and-so. You can always trust his results.” This casual remark made More
