发信人: ANDDNA (就象江湖), 信区: Biology
标 题: start a trend or follow one
发信站: Unknown Space - 未名空间 (Sun Nov 28 21:41:41 2004) WWW-POST

From OUT OF FASHION--PAUL SMAGLIK
Naturejobs 432, 531 (25 November 2004);

It may seem like the best approach, but following trends can be detrimental to
your career. A recent article in EMBO Reports (K. Weigmann EMBO Rep. 5, 1028–
1031; 2004) presents a few case studies. After a Nobel prize and the scare
over mad-cow disease, prions became 'flavour of the month' — which was good
news for the few scientists already working in the field. But the huge boost
in publicity prompted many others to jump on the bandwagon — and then the
funds dried up.

Even if money had remained available, the hype would have attracted more
competition, so ultimately everyone would have got less. Even in well-funded
fields, it can be dangerous to jump on someone else's train — you might get
scooped. But there is a solution. Ask a novel question and either invent a new
technique or use the latest methods to answer it, says Bruce Alberts,
president of the US National Academy of Sciences (see Nature 431, 1041; 2004).

It's much more satisfying to start a trend than follow one. And doing so means
you won't end up a fashion victim.


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