DIWO

Check out biocurious.org for an interesting take on the “do it with others” (DIWO) effort to extend co-working to scientific research. Here’s the good comment on paper credentials. “The prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out.” In a democracy, citizen science would appear to be essential, not merely something on the margin. But to get back to that, we have to move beyond the idea that science is only for the credentialed. It is for those who observe carefully, who realize what to observe, and contribute to an understanding of why the observation matters. In this, the challenge of doing science is not consensus, nor recognition of pseudoscience, nor credentials–but rather to get it right. Scientific entrepreneurs are a fundamental test of insight, because they aim to act, not simply publish, on what they find. The move to co-workspace for science represents an important development in what makes work peer-reviewed. If the peers are using the work, that’s a very good sign. Much better than a remote, anonymous reader poking holes in an account.