00-history.Rmd

# How did the system of science get so misaligned?

The institutional systems that currently structure how science is carried out
have never been designed to work together, for efficiency or for over-all
societal benefit; they have grown historically by adapting to different
shifting scientific, technological and societal challenges.

The poor state of the structures of science can be thought of as the 'law of
unintended consequences': although the motivation behind each component of the
system may have made sense from a narrow perspective at a certain point in
time, the sum of these systems are now producing unintended results.

```{r include=FALSE, eval=FALSE}
# TODO: Insert a few examples of structures that once made sense from a narrow perspective but now are at the root of the problems with the institutions of science

# As an example, we can look at the historical development of the publication of academic journals.

```

## The digital age offers new opportunities

The digital era has brought profound disruption to many industries by making
the distribution of information virtually costless and reducing the need for
rent seeking intermediaries. However, this development has yet to impact
academic publishing. Even though most publishers now use digital processing
systems and publish manuscripts digitally, they have simply ported the old
system in which they play a controlling role to the digital medium for more
efficient distribution. If we took a step back and asked how we could we best
organise the distribution and storage of new scientific findings, software and
data, given all the digital tools at our disposal, the answer would not be the
current academic publication business.

The digital era has also forced massive and rapid changes to the way we do
science, by increasing the technical ability required to measure, record and
analyse previously unimaginable quantities of data and the ability to access
enormous volumes of literature/data and to work remotely.

The consequences of these developments are only starting to take shape. 'a
Science Collective' aims to be at the forefront of reimagining the way we
organise science for this century, taking full advantage of all the options the
digital age offers.