This is at once true and useful, and also what is wrong with science in the 21st century. Being a good scientist is about understanding a field well, thinking of unique hypothesis, and performing experiments carefully to address them. Being a *successful* scientist OTOH ...
I am often asked what the one skill is that young scientists should work on the most. My answer: your storytelling via presentations. The better you present, the more your ideas travel, the more doors open, and the more people want to work with you. A few tips: Have one clear
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TEDifying your identity by creating an oversimplified "message" does sell yourself more easily, create buzz, and help find funding. But that's not science. It's important now because funding rates are 5% so every non-scientific advantage helps.
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But it's regrettable that recognition, even by other scientists, is now driven so much by non-scientific factors. It will select for those who are the best at presentation or building alliances, not the best at thinking, understanding, or analysis, i.e. not the best at science.
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Put another way, a scientific career used to be where smart introverts could get a reliable and meaningful job — not a high-paying one, but one they could keep and do well. Now with the daily need to put on a show à la TED, it's no longer the case.
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@MichaelLinLab The idea that you need to have a "good story" to tell and "sells well" is hard coded in the older generation of scientists and, unfortunately, we passed it on to the younger ones. This led to many theories becoming mainstream even if epistemologically weak.
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@MichaelLinLab Maybe the idea of what it means to do "science” is changing. Scientists today aren’t like those in the early 20th century. For most, it’s just a 9-to-5 job. Visit any lab with a few postdocs and see how many are really thinking instead of simply following their PI’s instructions.
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@MichaelLinLab 100% agree with @MichaelLinLab ....one can present BS amazingly well....that doesn't mean, that BS is good science! Being a good scientist is what you said above.
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@MichaelLinLab Polished talks amplify rigorous science-but never replace it. Master both. #ScienceCommunication #PhDLife
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