Thanks to Gautam Menon, I came across this article in Nature, which makes an interesting case for being self critical of one’s own published work.
Perhaps, this is a good way to go, although much easier said than done. Overall, I strongly support the line of thinking of looking inward and being critical of one’s work.
One of the motivations for writing my blog is to highlight the human element of doing science, and honest mistakes in the pursuit of science are very much part of it.
This is indeed a good culture to inculcate and encourage in a day and age where everything negative and critical is looked down upon as a disadvantage.
The article also reminds me of Peter Medawar’s talk: “Is the scientific paper a fraud?” , which was one of the most refreshing viewpoints on the pursuit of science that I have read. Interestingly, there has been quite a lot of debate on this question, and is worth exploring.
Also there is an element of Gandhism in being truthful to oneself and others, which is refreshing to see in scientific world 🙂
Scatterings 