Well, it missed by a month. But I’m starting with fools anyway… in may.
General Idea: Experts can frequently be fools. Simply.
Why?
Because they think they are experts. And because people expect them to be experts.
Quote of the Month - Expert Fools
"An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today." - L. J. Peter
Image of the Month - Culture Fools
Pushkin’s statue in Ukraine -
Discussion of the month - Scientists and Fools !
This short thread I posted to Twitter, on Universities, Academics, and Research:
Can you imagine a scientist publishing 700 research papers in 13 years? That's 4.5 papers a month. More than one per week! Then he gets suspended..!?
wionews.com : Reputed Spanish chemist and one of world’s most cited scientists, Rafael Luque, suspended without...
Legendary chemist, and one of the world's most cited scientists "Raphael Luque" was suspended from his position in the University of Cordoba, for bypassing the university's cooperation policy. The real story however is about university rankings and prolific academic authors.
“Without me, the University of Córdoba is going to drop 300 places [in the Shanghai ranking],” "They are envious and mediocre people” he said. The researcher has published 700+ articles over a 13 year career --> this is more knowledge than what whole universities can produce.
The super star has 3 universities (in Spain, Russia, KSA) that list him as part of their teams (apparently there were talks with more in Iran). University Rankings depend on published research. Academic careers depend on published research.
Everyone abuses the system: Academics abuse the system with their publishing (faster, more) and quotation agreements (I quote you, you quote me) and alliances in forming teams of authors (10 authors on a paper?!). At the expense of: insight and meaning !
Universities abuse the system too, by prioritizing 'ranking manipulation' over the sacred mission of spreading knowledge. They neglect the true value of research and teaching, and the impact they can make on people's lives.. They go on boring badge-collection missions.
"They just bought be first class airline tickets and luxury hotel stays. I didn't take money." Even though many hard-working teachers and educators suffer financially, I think the problem is no way near here..
The problem is with the whole structure of education and the scientific system. Many 'scientists' and 'experts' are that: ranking manipulators and gate keepers! Society respects scientists... but it frequently doesn't know what 'scientist' specifically (and practically) means.
A more detailed discussion on these issues can be seen in This blog post: https://ahijazi.website/2023/reduction-approximations-university-rankings-measuring-education/