Some Believe that Scientists Should Not Allow Personal Attachment to Goals

Many believe that it is not right for Scientists to be too personally attached to the goals of their research lest there is too much temptation to cheat. Yet, without passion for the project one has to wonder if they can ever reach the goal. Besides other than the South Korean cloning scientist who forged research and a few other incidents that occasionally occur in the pharmaceutical industry, for the most part the scientific field does have respect for integrity.

Scientists generally do have passion and personal attachment to their research, but if you said this could at times be problematic then you are right, sometimes it might be best if some of the people on the team did not. Of course, there is pure exploratory research and then there is someone trying to figure out how to do a specific thing, The right Brothers needed attachment to the goal, so did Oppenheimer, Linus Pauling or Edison, so you see that point too?

If the scientists must concentrate on the goal, (winning), and work towards that and do so in an ethical way, (to seek the truth), then attachment is good, yet if this attachment causes them to cheat then that is very bad. Recently, the Online Think Tank took up this subject of attachment in research and one person stated:

They have to approach an experiment without attachment as that can skew results.

Well, this is a good point indeed, there is sometimes a problem, but that is inherent in all humans, thus a Human issue. Humans are into attachments, as previously confirmed in the games they play. There are some interesting studies on attachment/detachment with regards to creative folks, truly creative folks can do either like Crick and Watson, they were attached and creative types, look what they discovered? Of course another argument was brought up:

They have to be able to examine the results and accept an experiment that fails as easily as one that succeeds in order to learn from what happens and create a new hypothesis.

Yes, but someone who is detached may not care to put in the time to find 1,000 substances not to use to make a light bulb. Still in this debate it was stated that:

Scientists are carefully coached, as a result, in dispassionate experimentation, not setting a goal, but developing a hypothesis, testing it, then using the results to create a new hypothesis.

What are your thoughts on this issue, should our scientists be dispassionate with their work and unattached or should they be fully involved, and dedicated to finding a cure, innovation or something that might some day save human civilizations?

L. Winslow is an Economic Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur http://www.worldthinktank.net . Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Other articles by L. Winslow

Over Mining the Moon - Earth Moon System Hangs in the Balance - by L. Winslow

If all the nations of the World start mining the moon, then eventually it will be completely mined out and we will all lose as it becomes lighter with less gravity to pull on the Earth and affect our

Online Article Submission Sites - Should They Monitor Weight Loss Claims? - by L. Winslow

Should Online Article Submission Sites monitor weight loss claims? Indeed, I have several observations and comments on this issue. First, one trend I have watched is how Advertising Periodicals or Media that hosts ads, scrutinizes things like Biz Ops,

Bitter Vietnam Vets Often Cause Hurtful Statements Detracting From Their Honor, Duty and Service - by L. Winslow

Often when the discussion of the War in Iraq comes up, a bitter Vietnam Veteran will school a younger member of our society. Unfortunately, they often say ask; "Did you serve in the military?" and when the younger man

In Water Boat Hull Cleaning and Environmental Considerations - by L. Winslow

Most boat owners do not realize that it is not legal to clean algae off a boat hull in the water without environmental controls. The issues are that the algae or slimy green stuff, is void of oxygen and

Forget Global Warming Scare Tactics - Fear Global Cooling - by L. Winslow

About fifteen years ago there was a group of scientists claiming that the Ice Age was coming and many had bought bumper stickers to remind us of the whole ordeal that would kill 2/3 of all life on Earth.

Newest Articles in Science

1st Grade Science Fair Projects - by Jordan Matthews
A first grade science fair project enables a first grader to learn science in a fun way. Science fair projects plant the seed of interest in science, in a child. It inflames their imagination and arouses their interest in

The Many Disguises of Mono Sodium Glutamate - by Ainsley Laing
The other day, I got an email from an American guy who lives in Malaysia. He was saying that cooking with mono sodium glutamate (MSG) is a real health problem to Malaysians and that he "doesn't allow it

Biometrics and Individual Human Scent - by L. Winslow
Did you know that no two humans have the exact same scent and that dogs can smell the difference? It is true. In fact a dog can smell the finger print mark left on a glass and then tell the difference between the human that left it and one that didn't and you can have other people touch the glass too and it knows the difference between the ones that touched the glass and those that did not. Amazing.

New Man Made Diamond Creation Technologies - by Dr. C. Phillips
Science has developed new machines that duplicate the volcanic heat and pressure required to change carbon into diamond as found embedded in the walls of volcanoes. The volcanic pressure alone is equal to [40] tons on a piece of coal!

The Digital Microscope Camera - Spying On The Invisible Worlds - by David Faulkner
The art of photography has allowed human beings, for the last one hundred and fifty years, to make a permanent visual record of their surroundings. Photographs are as commonplace now as words, and a world without cameras would not only be unimaginable; it would be unmanageable.