Science
Academics, Welcome to a Free Place to Express Yourselves
Nothing more competitive than academic publications. On Medium, free expression has a place: ILLUMINATION.
A response to one of my stories triggered me to write this piece for academic eyes (not only academic eyes…).
This is the story.
The response by Eli Snow says:
“I 100% agree when you say that ILLUMINATION is an encouraging, friendly space to share writing. Coming from a competitive academic writing environment, I have never felt more free to express my ideas.” — Eli Snow.
And I realize, yes, the academic environment is competitive and sometimes even hostile. Of course, you want peer reviews. But you don’t want to be bashed when the ‘accepted’ academic world thinks you are going off the rails with some new research you’ve done.
Or if you express some ideas, you’ve curled your brain around.
Where’s the curiosity in academia gone?
Scientists should be the ones questioning everything. And still, the universities are often putting labels. Up to pseudoscience if you’re not careful.
Just because you’ve come to some other conclusion that is really shedding some new (perhaps undesired) light on subjects. Or because you’ve adopted qualitative ways of researching.
Our science has become tunnel-visioned with all this competitiveness, focus on quantity and commercial influences.
Be curious!
Show your colors!
Be as diverse as you can get!
There’s so much we don’t know yet as a human species. We have researched a lot of depth on subjects, but we often failed to see the interactions. And therefore fail to see the full truth of life on this planet.
For instance, the soil is still a black box. But we need healthy, living soil to create healthy food for an abundant future. Let’s explore.
We know about quantitive research. But qualitative research has so much to offer! Let’s explore.
Dr. Brené Brown
One example here is the work of Professor at the University of Houston, Brené Brown. I admire her! She researches human emotions like shame and guilt and writes great books on how to empower yourself and others.
Fritjof Capra Ph.D.
Another scientist I admire is Austrian born, American Physicist Fritjof Capra. He is the writer of the books The Systems View of Life and The Tao of Physics.
He shows us the bigger picture. No single, separate part will ever explain the whole dynamic, complex chaotic world we live in. Therefore we need to see the holistic, systemic picture of all these interrelated parts and only then find our solutions to world problems.
Not easy in scientific research, but I applaud the ones who do!
Dr. Bruce Lipton
Another scientist gets my imagination going. The biologist and epigenetics expert, Dr. Bruce Lipton, is the author of the book The Biology of Belief.
What if there is more than matter? And what if we can understand how to use it? What if we really are able to change our gene patterns when we change our environment? Nature is dynamic, not carved in stone. We are nature and connected to everything around us.
So why not?
Our body cells regenerate themselves. Bone structures are regenerated in 10 years. And our human skin regenerates itself in 2 weeks' time. So why would genes be static?
Interesting perspective. Let’s explore.
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new sights, but in looking with new eyes”
— Marcel Proust, French author.
Curiosity and Collaboration
I think the academic world can do many things to get on the right track again:
- Reinstate curiosity as a virtue
- Collaborate between different fields of research. Competition is then no dangerous factor anymore. You can build knowledge between fields of study. Seeing findings in context becomes a valid factor then
- Motivate scientists to share their views in laymen’s words with the rest of the world and receive input from the ‘real world’ as feedback. Scientists should be curious about this input. Take it seriously. And use it to create new research that is really supportive of life (broad context, all species)
- Stimulate diversity of viewpoints. Diversity of backgrounds, diversity of race, gender, and age. Cultivate a beginners’ mind in all of these researchers and see with new eyes
- Allow qualitative research instead of just quantitative measuring
- And last but not least. Adopt holistic, systemic thinking with all its complexity, feedback loops, and emerging factors. See the connections! Realize that we have many large gaps in knowledge and be curious about those.
ILLUMINATION
Okay, back to the start of my story. A lot of academics like the environment of ILLUMINATION as a place to share their views freely.
I think it is so important that we are free to share our views. Without the risk of bashing. Or competition.
We need creative academics who are inspired to learn more, do better, go into different directions than our scientific ruts allow nowadays. We all have patterns. Scientists as well.
Let’s get out of our ruts, be inspired by new views, and create new insights!
This is the only way:
- to create new technology that supports life instead of destroying it
- to create regenerative farming practices that can be the bridge between natural systems and human systems
- to create a medical profession committed to health instead of illness, subsidized by the pharma giants
- to create a more beautiful world than the one we have now…
Welcome, Eli Snow, and all other scientists who feel a breath of fresh air within ILLUMINATION.
I will add a few writers that have letters before or after their names (or who I know have a university education) and write for our publication. Paul Myers MBA, Kathryn A. LeRoy, Ph.D., Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Brian E. Wish, PhD, MaryJo Wagner, PhD, Adam Tabriz, MD, Galit Birk, PhD, Dr John Rose, Dr Michael Heng, Shin Jie Yong, Dipti Pande
I would like to extend an invitation to all scientists among us.
Please share with us how YOU feel about writing for and sharing with normal Jane Doe-types like me and be appreciated. I would like to read about the importance of free sharing and bouncing ideas off diverse other people to do your work better. Learning and inspiring at the same time…
And this doesn’t mean you have to agree. All words here are my own view on science becoming tunnel-visioned. You don’t have to agree. But I would like your view on sharing. Just honestly. Just exploringly. Just…
We are a publication of diversity, synergy, fusion, and serendipity.
Here you are allowed to create and to shine…
Welcome!
And if you want to connect, you can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or my website. Or somewhere in nature, learning life lessons from wise trees…
