Brain science as erotic fair

[anonymous]

Young and naive, guided by good will and search for the ultimate truth about, eager to know how the brain really works, I was making my first steps in neuroscience. What I discovered, however, surprised me unpleasantly...

Metaphors we use to describe something characterize the way we think and act. They are diagnostic of our consciousness and our unconscious.

What does it mean if a brain researcher describes his attempts to publish results as “trying to sell” them, wondering whether the peer-reviewers will “buy”? “Cool story”, said a graduate student to me at a conference, “you should sell it high”.

The classical ideals of science are objectivity and search for the truth. The objective truth might never be reached and in fact may not even exist from a philosophical point of view. But this is a goal of science, its ideology, a kind of moral principal. What does truth have to do with a market place, where stuff is being sold and bought? Selling is not something bad, but it is done for money, not for ideals. (The equivalent of money in brain science is a journal impact factor). As a consequence, junk is sometimes being sold at a high price… As another consequence, the interest in the brain itself is replaced by greed for publications in high-ranked journals, which, like real money, means prestige and respect by the community.

And what does it mean if a brain researcher describes an experimental idea as “sexy”? Does it bring forward our understanding of the brain? Is it useful? No, it is something that the public will readily swallow, something that will be on the news and make a researcher famous. Of course, sexy stuff is selling well. And so, science becomes a sort of a tabloid.

The worst thing about this discourse is that it is contagious. A young and innocent mind after a couple of years spent in this “business” undergoes a dramatic transformation, integrates all the common metaphors into his or her own vocabulary and mind. People who do not agree with the principles quit neuroscience after getting their doctoral degree. The ones who stay readily play the rules.

The authority which science enjoys is enormous. People believe that we are objective and truthful. People think we are making progress in our understanding of the brain. People trust our findings. People respect us. We are responsible for this trust we are given. This is not a condemnation. This is a call: let us not forget what our goals are. Let us pursue them as well as we can and make a good science. And if we are not pursuing them, let’s not dissemble, but leave science and become salesmen instead.