Category Archives: bias

Do you know Excellence when you see it?

Posted on 23 May 2021 by Athene Donald

Politicians toss around phrases like ‘levelling up’ and ‘build back better’, not to mention ‘freedom of speech’, with gay abandon. Such words sound so positive and authoritative, what could be the problem? As many people have pointed out, however, there … Continue reading →

Posted in bias, careers, ERC, grant-giving panels, Matthew effect, REF, Research, Science Funding | Comments Off on Do you know Excellence when you see it?

Leaning In or Leaning Out: Who does What (and Why)?

Posted on 22 December 2019 by Athene Donald

Girly swot Brenda Hale, otherwise known as the outgoing President of the Supreme Court with an impressive taste in brooches (see figure), was quoted recently as saying: “I encountered many young men from public school backgrounds who felt entitled to … Continue reading →

Posted in Baroness Brenda Hale, bias, Equality, publication, Women in science | Comments Off on Leaning In or Leaning Out: Who does What (and Why)?

Feeling Exhausted

Posted on 24 January 2019 by Athene Donald

This week I came across an article highlighting the accumulated evidence from multiple studies of the disadvantage women in science suffer, with specific reference to the fields of anthropology, ecology and evolution, the field the author – Kathleen Grogan – … Continue reading →

Posted in bias, bullying, leaky pipeline, MIT, Science Culture, Women in science | Comments Off on Feeling Exhausted

On quotas in Academia – do we need them?

Posted on 24 March 2018 by Sylvia McLain

As a graduate student I was asked to participate in a `women in science’ group. I refused. I was an old(er) grad student compared to my cohort, my goal was to get in and get out as fast as practically … Continue reading →

Posted in bias, Unconscious bias, Women in science | Comments Off on On quotas in Academia – do we need them?

Supporting Men, Supporting Women: We Need to do Both

Posted on 15 November 2015 by Athene Donald

I am not infrequently challenged about why I worry so much about women in academia when young men are being disadvantaged. This is seen to be particularly true in school exam results but also if one looks at the numbers … Continue reading →

Posted in appointment, bias, Ceci and WIlliams, Equality, International Men's Day | Comments Off on Supporting Men, Supporting Women: We Need to do Both

We’ve all got troubles (including the Open Science Framework)

Posted on 16 May 2015 by Sylvia McLain

Surprisingly to some and not-so-surprisingly to others, we scientists have our own fair share of troubles in the way we perform our day job – bias, fraud, irreproducibility, lost results, bad data management, difficulty in publishing non-conclusive results. We also … Continue reading →

Posted in bias, Open Science Network, scientific publishing, The Trouble with Scientists | Comments Off on We’ve all got troubles (including the Open Science Framework)

We don’t need no education–at least not like this…

Posted on 26 May 2012 by Steve Caplan

Anti-semitism is on the rise in Europe. Strictly speaking, this may not be true, as Jews have traditionally had a difficult time in the “old world,” to say the least. Why? Good question!

Posted in anti-semitism, bias, education, Europe, prejudice, religion, UK | Comments Off on We don’t need no education–at least not like this…

On taking a good look at ourselves

Posted on 3 February 2011 by rpg

Cross-posted from Naturally Selected for added controversy. Perhaps the most distinctive and powerful thing about Science is its tendency, or rather proclivity to ask searching, even uncomfortable questions. And unlike belief systems, or ideological and political and movements, or pseudoscience, … Continue reading →

Posted in bias, clinical trials, drugs, F1000, Medicine, Politics, ranting, science | Comments Off on On taking a good look at ourselves