As collaborations get larger, more international, and more likely to involve coauthors who don’t actually know each other well, a problem that’s always existed is getting more troublesome. I’ve just seen the next step, and it isn’t pretty. It arises from the case – and the consequences – of the disappearing author.
I think (I hope) that we all know that coauthorship involves both rights and responsibilities. Continue reading
Image credit: S. Heard. Hand models: Ken Dearborn, Allyson Heustis (thanks!).
Of course. Most are, and that’s perfectly appropriate. But some interesting issues arise. Continue reading
Photo: Paul Erdős. (c) Topsy Kretts, CC BY 3.0
Warning: very nerdy.
Sometimes I get distracted and go down a rabbithole. Sometimes the result is fun.
I’ve been lucky, over my career, to have a large number of coauthors (some of whom are good friends; but many of whom I’ve never even met). Coauthorhip makes my work better, but it has other benefits too. A somewhat abstract one is that it makes me feel that I’m part of something larger than my own research program, or even my own discipline. I belong (as we all do) to a global and cross-disciplinary network of collaborating scientists. And to prove it, I have an Erdős number. Continue reading
Scientist Sees Squirrel 