A few days ago, I watched this video in my Facebook where a collection of everyday people is shown walking in the street with a guide to direct them because they were in great danger, compulsively focused to the screen of their smartphones.
It reminds me that during the same day, like every day, I was doing the same… As if it was not sufficient in my office, facing to my PC writing my last publication about my expected outstanding work, preparing the last deliverable for the European project I am working for, exchanging my dozens of daily emails with my many contacts, looking for the last eventual possibilities calls for getting some grants to sustain my supposed inspired research, establishing some potential partnership with great experts to optimise my chance to be evaluated one day as an excellent guy, and much more. Sitting alone facing to the world by the way of my PC screen! Time is running and I won’t really appreciate to obtain this status of excellence once being in the permanent horizontal position, hearing from there during a couple of minutes such comments like :” What a great person he was!”. Indeed, reaching the state of vacuity is the real challenge, when your brain has been shaped to be in constant awakening. Here and now! What’s up? Nothing, just a WhatsApp alert on my phone.
It’s Saturday night. I am in Barcelona. It’s the celebration day called San Jordi. The legend said that he wins a dragon. I am now alone at home, my family outside, each one in his/her own trip, and mine is to fight with my PC forcing it to deliver me a big data analysis to support my hot European deliverable. And to deliver me of a high stress! This computing staff, hours of calculation, gave me the possibility to reactivate my old PC to write this comment…. A message in a bottle, as would have said Sting at his best time.
This week, we have another great challenge with Sabine Louët and EuroScientist. Our last special issue! This time, you will be facing to the Uberisation of Science. Yes! We don’t have any idea if it’s good or bad! But it’s a new direction that suddenly is waking up. Young researchers are leaving in a new world and needs new solutions to realise their wishes. Research teams need alternative solutions to maintain they know-how, an impossible challenge with such insecurity. The actual top down model is not able to provide enough solutions to support so many young talented people that our society needs at its forefront to escape from our quite preoccupying destiny. Top down directed innovation is not really inspiring. Climate change, population’s growth, fighting against ignorance, misery and hate are other cups of tea. Opening new ways is much better than doing nothing and crying that we are screwed.
A new deal for research is required… RRI is one absolute way. Uberisation is opening new avenues: an unexpected route under construction from the new bottom up self-organising model that is growing up each day. Hopefully, it should help to improve the distribution of wealth… up to now, this is an open question! Top down vs bottom up: is there any possibility to find the balance that will really change the life of everyday people? And of scientists?
At the same time, some great initiatives are flowering, like safegees to help the refugees… by the way of their own virtual world! An incredible initiative done by… an everyday people!
So read EuroScientist! Help us to make it the new voice of the Homo Scientificus Europaeus’ community by the way of EuroScience. We need your support! Let’s try giftivism!
Do no forget to sign our already old open letter “They have chosen ignorance”, which is more relevant than ever. And to spread it. You virtual word is full of contacts that will be happy to follow us, undoubtedly! You can be their guide!
- Homo scientificus europaeus: Giving European scientists back their voice - 26 July, 2017
- A March for Science in a small countryside town? - 13 April, 2017
- Second Homo scientificus europaeus Meeting - 24 March, 2017
EuroScientist journal 
Great article….!!!!!!!!