Free Essays: Destructive Competition Exposed in Cantors Dilemma :: Cantors Dilemma Essays

Destructive Competition Exposed in Cantors Dilemma   Competition is often useful as a subject matter of motivation. However, in the scientific world, competition has the potential to cause many scientists to lug their main purpose in look into. The main goal of scientific research is to develop knowledge that forget better society. When scientists work together to assistance each other reach a common goal, science is work as it should. However, with so much competition to be the best scientist, make for the most money, and possibly win the Nobel Prize, it is difficult for scientists to shargon ideas. Many scientists are very secretive. Carl Djerassi, a world famous scientist, describes this competition in his fictional novel, Cantors Dilemma. In his novel, he demonstrates the secrecy that competition encourages when two scientists, Cantor and Stafford, have it off an important experiment. Cantor does non want to publish the full observational expatiate right aw ay. He explains, No, Id like to string this out a bit. Just a preliminary communication first, without the experimental details, so that nonentity can jump on the bandwagon right away. Scientists are very relate with the idea that another scientist may get hold of their work and read it as his or her own. In Cantors Dilemma, Cantor decides to which journal he will send his ms based on his prior knowledge of referees. Referees check up on the experiment and pass it along to other scientists for verification of the results. He did not want an American referee to leak the news. Therefore, he sent the manuscript to London where an American referee would not have the opportunity to pick up the article. Many scientists adopt other peoples ideas as their own. Surprisingly, this often happens unintentionally. Djerassi describes grant requests in Cantors Dilemma. When a grant request is sent in, most of the people on the review board are the scientists competition. Since they are dea ling with ideas and not accomplished work, the review board has the opportunity to steal ideas. Cantor describes that, Members of the review board cant table service but remember what they read, and after a while, say a few months or even weeks later, they forget where they first saw it and gradually they work out its their own idea. For this reason, most scientists do not give many details when they are applying for a grant. Competition also can influence a scientist into producing fraudulent results.