The need to reach across national boundaries places greater demands on scientists. While scientists become more specialized as they proceed through their studies, broadening and collaborative experiences make them better able to “think differently” and “connect the dots” to discover new things. Ultimately it leads to better science. 

This article was published in print as "Boundary Conditions."

7 Comments

1. 1. ideaman911 04:53 PM 4/18/12

   Ms Gast suggests "the typical American approach: to attack the problem with loads of mathematical equations". Really? How is that typical, if other writers suggest that Americans are terrible at math? Or is her opinion based on the cloistered world of academia?
   
   I recently wrote a piece for our local Porsche Club newsletter which was timely, and supports your real conclusion that it takes many skills to achieve truly remarkable things. If interested, see:
   
   www.holzerent.com/pages/pca82.doc
   
   for the Word format download. You will find many others I have written there as well, published as "The Alternative Line". There won't be many equations ;-)
   
   I recognize that few readers of Scientific American will ever be described as "typical", and I have no real numeric data to dispute your contention. But I have a "feeling" you are far from accurate in THAT.
   
   Joe Holzer

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2. 2. pmcgarvey 02:18 PM 4/21/12

   I totally agree that a diverse view to solving problems is best. I saw this first hand in my last 20 years working in the network tech arena. I started out as the only woman in our group, and consistently saw a different approach to investigating a problem. As more women joined our group, this different view became more obvious to all of us. This is a different spin than Ms. Gast's diversity, but does point out the similar benefits.

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3. 3. geojellyroll 09:26 AM 5/9/12

   ?????
   
   99.95 of science is international and has been for 150 years.. It's not about the 'big stuff' but tens of thousands of individuals doing research in their niches that few are aware of.
   
   I've been in geology for over 35 years and have never thought of 'borders'.

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4. 4. Eric Zhang 10:09 AM 5/9/12

   Nowadays,it has been increasingly important for scientists in different areas to work for a common task. We have known that the sequencing of genome took place as a global task for scientists with different nationalities to accomplish including those in the U.S.A, China, Japan, and etc. So, what you have proposed is what I really what want to express.

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5. 5. jtdwyer 02:30 PM 5/9/12

   "Scientists come from all over to chase the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Col­lider near Geneva. Centers of excellence dot the globe."
   
   This is not yet an example of "our biggest achievements", is it? Or are you considering that conducting enormous projects with many thousands of employees and a budget of billions of Euros to be a major achievement by itself?
   
   I might mention that in past years NASA achieved more with less international collaboration that CERN has with the LHC. I'm sure CERN will catch up, given enough time and money...
   
   Certainly diverse perspectives are useful in the cases where enormous organizations are necessary to conduct the business of science, but in such cases I think its the effective operation of the organization that is the most critical factor in determining its success. Of course, such large organizations have specialized public relations groups that strive to ensure that their achievements are recognized.
   
   On the other hand, I've heard that the days of the independent contributor, such as Newton, Darwin or Einstein are over. Since their are so many large organization engaged in the business of science, and they tend to promote their own interests, it's unlikely that individuals would be allowed to make any really revolutionary contributions. All hail the little guy who just does his little job in a big organization!
   
   Back to the point of this article, international collaborations allow public relations groups to incorporate more of the world's population in the celebration of organizational success - and the search for continued funding sources...

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6. 6. ideaman911 06:48 PM 5/9/12

   Re jtdwyer comments; I have yet to hear of any organization innovating anything. It is done by a person with some insight, and often requires a thick skin to survive the naysayers. That they collaborate is no question in the internet age, mostly due to the ABILITY to share in real time. But as the IBM team would tell you about "Watson", the Jeopardy victor, even that level of talent has no creative ability. Same for "organizations". Einsteins are still essential.

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7. 7. jtdwyer in reply to ideaman911 08:40 PM 5/9/12

   Actually, I agree with you wholeheartedly!
   
   My comments were an unsuccessful attempt to facetiously express what I think is a consensus view I've often heard from primarily non-contributors in large organizations...
   Thanks!

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