TEDxWaterloo
Michael Nielsen: Open science now!
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What if every scientist could share their data as easily as they tweet about their lunch? Michael Nielsen calls for scientists to embrace new tools for collaboration that will enable discoveries to happen at the speed of Twitter.
Michael Nielsen - Physicist
A physicist turned writer, Michael Nielsen believes online communication and collaboration tools are revolutionizing the way we make scientific discoveries. Full bio
A physicist turned writer, Michael Nielsen believes online communication and collaboration tools are revolutionizing the way we make scientific discoveries. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
Well, good afternoon, everybody.
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Thank you all very much
for coming along today.
for coming along today.
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I'd like to begin my talk with a story.
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It's a story that begins,
but does not end,
but does not end,
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with a mathematician named Tim Gowers.
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Gowers is one of the world's most
renowned mathematicians.
renowned mathematicians.
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He's a professor at Cambridge University
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and a recipient of the Fields Medal,
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often called the Nobel Prize
of mathematics.
of mathematics.
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Gowers is also a blogger,
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and in January of 2009, he used his blog
to pose a very striking question:
to pose a very striking question:
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Is massively collaborative
mathematics possible?
mathematics possible?
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So what he was proposing in this post
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was to use his blog to attack a difficult
unsolved mathematical problem --
unsolved mathematical problem --
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a problem which he said
he would "love to solve" --
he would "love to solve" --
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completely in the open,
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using his blog to post his ideas
and his partial progress.
and his partial progress.
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What's more, he issued an open invitation,
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inviting anybody in the world who thought
that they had an idea to contribute
that they had an idea to contribute
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to post their idea
in the comment section of the blog.
in the comment section of the blog.
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His hope was that by combining
the ideas of many minds,
the ideas of many minds,
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he could make easy work
of his hard mathematical problem.
of his hard mathematical problem.
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He called this experiment
the Polymath Project.
the Polymath Project.
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Well, the Polymath Project
got off to a slow start.
got off to a slow start.
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In the first seven hours,
nobody posted any comments.
nobody posted any comments.
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But then, a mathematician
from the University of British Columbia
from the University of British Columbia
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named Jozsef Solymosi
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posted a short comment.
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And this seemed to break the ice,
because a few minutes later,
because a few minutes later,
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a high school teacher named
Jason Dyer posted a suggestion.
Jason Dyer posted a suggestion.
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And a few minutes after that,
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another mathematician named
Terence Tao, also a Fields medalist,
Terence Tao, also a Fields medalist,
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posted an idea.
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And things really started
to move quickly at this point.
to move quickly at this point.
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Over the next 37 days,
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27 different people would post
800 substantive comments
800 substantive comments
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containing 170,000 words.
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I was not a serious participant,
but I was following along closely
but I was following along closely
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from the start,
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and it was just amazing.
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The speed with which an idea
would be tentatively proposed
would be tentatively proposed
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and then really rapidly developed
by other people and improved,
by other people and improved,
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sometimes discarded --
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it was just amazing.
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Gowers described the process
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as being to ordinary research
"as driving is to pushing a car."
"as driving is to pushing a car."
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(Laughter)
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At the end of the 37 days,
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Gowers used his blog to announce
that they had solved the core problem;
that they had solved the core problem;
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in fact, they had solved a harder
generalization of the problem.
generalization of the problem.
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The Polymath Project had succeeded.
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So what the Polymath Project
suggests, at least to me,
suggests, at least to me,
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is that we can use
the internet to build tools
the internet to build tools
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that actually expand our ability
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to solve the most challenging
intellectual problems.
intellectual problems.
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Or, to put it in another way:
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we can build tools which actively amplify
our collective intelligence
our collective intelligence
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in much the same way as, for millennia,
we've used physical tools
we've used physical tools
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to amplify our strength.
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OK?
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So what I'd like to talk about today,
or what I'd like to explore today,
or what I'd like to explore today,
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is what this means for science.
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It's much more important than just solving
a single mathematical problem.
a single mathematical problem.
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It means an expansion in the range
of scientific problems
of scientific problems
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we can hope to attack at all.
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It means, potentially, an acceleration
in the rate of scientific discovery.
in the rate of scientific discovery.
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It means a change in the way
we construct knowledge itself.
we construct knowledge itself.
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So, before I get too overexcited, however,
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I would like to talk
about some of the challenges,
about some of the challenges,
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some of the problems.
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Particularly, I'd like to describe
a failure of this approach.
a failure of this approach.
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It occurred in 2005, or started in 2005.
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A grad student at Caltech named
John Stockton had a very good idea
John Stockton had a very good idea
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for what he called the "Quantum Wiki,"
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or "Qwiki" for short.
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(Laughter)
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OK? It's a great idea.
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What he did with the Qwiki was --
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the idea of the Qwiki was that it
was going to be a great repository
was going to be a great repository
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of human knowledge,
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much like Wikipedia.
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But instead of being focused
on general knowledge,
on general knowledge,
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it was going to be focused on
specialist knowledge in quantum computing.
specialist knowledge in quantum computing.
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It was going be kind of
a supertextbook for the field,
a supertextbook for the field,
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with information about
all the latest research,
all the latest research,
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about what the big open problems
in the field were,
in the field were,
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people's speculation
about how to solve the problems,
about how to solve the problems,
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and so on.
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Like Wikipedia, the intention was
that it would be written by the users,
that it would be written by the users,
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in this case, by experts
in quantum computing.
in quantum computing.
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I was present at the conference at Caltech
in 2005, when it was announced.
in 2005, when it was announced.
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And some of the people who I spoke to
were very skeptical,
were very skeptical,
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but some of the people
were very excited by the idea.
were very excited by the idea.
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They were impressed by the implementation;
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they were impressed by the amount
of initial seed material
of initial seed material
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which had been put on the site;
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and most of all,
they were excited by the vision.
they were excited by the vision.
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But just because they were excited,
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didn't mean they wanted
to take the time themselves to contribute.
to take the time themselves to contribute.
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They hoped that other people would do so.
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And in the end, nobody, essentially,
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was really all that interested
in contributing.
in contributing.
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If you look today,
except in a few small corners,
except in a few small corners,
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the Qwiki is essentially dead.
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And, sad to say,
this is quite a common story.
this is quite a common story.
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Many scientists, in fields ranging
from genetics to string theory,
from genetics to string theory,
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have tried to start science wikis
along very similar lines.
along very similar lines.
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And typically, they've failed
for essentially the same reason.
for essentially the same reason.
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It's not just science wikis, either.
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Inspired by Facebook,
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many organizations have tried to create
social networks for scientists,
social networks for scientists,
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which will connect scientists
to other people with similar interests.
to other people with similar interests.
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So they can share things like data
or code, their ideas and so on.
or code, their ideas and so on.
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Again, it sounds like a good idea.
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But if you join one of these sites,
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you'll quickly discover
that they're essentially empty.
that they're essentially empty.
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They're virtual ghost towns.
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So what's going on?
What's the problem here?
What's the problem here?
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Why are these promising sites failing?
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Well, imagine that you're
an ambitious young scientist.
an ambitious young scientist.
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In fact, I know some of you here
are ambitious young scientists.
are ambitious young scientists.
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Imagine you're
an ambitious young scientist.
an ambitious young scientist.
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You really would like to get a job --
a permanent job, a good job --
a permanent job, a good job --
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doing the work that you love.
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But it's incredibly competitive
to get such jobs.
to get such jobs.
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Often, there'll be hundreds of very
highly qualified applicants for positions.
highly qualified applicants for positions.
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And so you find yourself working
60, 70, 80 hours a week,
60, 70, 80 hours a week,
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doing the one thing that you know
will get you such a job,
will get you such a job,
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and that is writing scientific papers.
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You may think that the Qwiki
is a wonderful idea in principle,
is a wonderful idea in principle,
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but you also know that writing
a single mediocre paper
a single mediocre paper
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will do much more for your career
and your job prospects
and your job prospects
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than a long series of brilliant
contributions to such a site.
contributions to such a site.
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So even though you may like the idea
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and you may think it will advance
science more quickly,
science more quickly,
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you find you just can't conceive of it
as being part of your job.
as being part of your job.
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It's not.
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The only things which can succeed
in this kind of environment
in this kind of environment
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are projects like the Polymath Project,
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which, even though they employ
an unconventional means to an end,
an unconventional means to an end,
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they have an essential
conservatism about them.
conservatism about them.
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The end product of the Polymath Project
was still a scientific paper.
was still a scientific paper.
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In fact, it was several papers. Right?
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So unconventional means,
but conventional ends.
but conventional ends.
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So there's a kind of
conservatism about it.
conservatism about it.
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And don't get me wrong --
the Polymath Project is terrific,
the Polymath Project is terrific,
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but it is a pity that scientists
can only use tools
can only use tools
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which have this kind of
conservative nature.
conservative nature.
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So let me tell you a story
about an instance
about an instance
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where we moved away
from this conservatism.
from this conservatism.
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It's a rare story where
the conservatism has been broken.
the conservatism has been broken.
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It occurred in the 1990s,
when, as you know,
when, as you know,
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for the first time, biologists were taking
large amounts of genetic data
large amounts of genetic data
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to collect in the Human Genome Project.
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And there were sites online
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which would allow biologists
to upload that data
to upload that data
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so it could be shared
with other people around the world
with other people around the world
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and analyzed by other people.
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Probably the best known of these
is the site GenBank,
is the site GenBank,
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which some of you may
have heard of or used.
have heard of or used.
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And these sites, like GenBank,
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had the problem in common with Qwiki
that scientists -- they're not paid
that scientists -- they're not paid
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or rewarded for sharing their data.
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It's all about publishing papers.
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So there was a considerable reluctance
to actually upload the data.
to actually upload the data.
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Yet, everybody could see
that this was silly --
that this was silly --
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it was obvious that this
was the right thing to do.
was the right thing to do.
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But just because it was obvious
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didn't mean that people
were actually doing it.
were actually doing it.
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So a meeting was convened
in Bermuda in 1996
in Bermuda in 1996
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of many of the world's leading
molecular biologists.
molecular biologists.
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And they sat and they discussed
the problem for several days,
the problem for several days,
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and they came up with what are now
called the Bermuda Principles,
called the Bermuda Principles,
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which state that:
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first, once human genetic data
is taken in the lab,
is taken in the lab,
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it should be immediately uploaded
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to a site like GenBank;
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and two, that the data
would be in the public domain.
would be in the public domain.
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And these principles were given teeth,
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because they were taken by the big
scientific grant agencies --
scientific grant agencies --
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the US National Institutes of Health,
the UK Wellcome Trust --
the UK Wellcome Trust --
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and actually baked into policy.
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So it meant that if you were a scientist
who wanted to work on the human genome,
who wanted to work on the human genome,
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you had to agree to abide
by these principles.
by these principles.
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And today, I'm very pleased
to say, as a result,
to say, as a result,
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you can go online -- anybody here --
and download the human genome.
and download the human genome.
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So that's a terrific story.
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But the human genome
is just a tiny, tiny fraction
is just a tiny, tiny fraction
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of all scientific knowledge.
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Even just in other parts of genetics,
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there is so much knowledge
that is still locked up.
that is still locked up.
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I spoke with one bioinformatician
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who told me that he'd been "sitting
on the genome of an entire species
on the genome of an entire species
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for more than a year."
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An entire species.
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And in other parts of science,
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it is routine that scientists
hoard their data.
hoard their data.
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They hoard the computer code
that they write
that they write
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that could be useful,
potentially, to other people.
potentially, to other people.
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They hoard their best ideas.
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And they often hoard even
the descriptions of the problems
the descriptions of the problems
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that they think are most interesting.
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And so, what I and other people
in the Open Science movement
in the Open Science movement
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would like to do is,
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we'd like to change this situation.
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We would like to change
the culture of science
the culture of science
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so that scientists become
much more strongly motivated
much more strongly motivated
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to share all of these
different kinds of knowledge.
different kinds of knowledge.
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We want to change the values
of individual scientists
of individual scientists
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so they start to see it
as part of their job
as part of their job
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to be sharing their data,
to be sharing their code,
to be sharing their code,
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to be sharing their best ideas
and their problems.
and their problems.
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So, if we can do this,
this kind of change in values,
this kind of change in values,
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then we will indeed start to see
individual scientists rewarded
individual scientists rewarded
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for doing these things;
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there will be incentives to do them.
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It's a difficult thing to do, however.
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We're talking about changing the culture
of entire large parts of science.
of entire large parts of science.
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But it has happened
before once in history,
before once in history,
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right back at the dawn of science.
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Galileo, 1609: he points his telescope
up at the sky towards Saturn,
up at the sky towards Saturn,
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and he sees for the first time in history
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what we now know are the rings of Saturn.
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Does he tell everybody in the world?
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No, he doesn't do that.
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He writes down a description, privately,
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and then he scrambles the letters
in the description into an anagram,
in the description into an anagram,
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and he sends that anagram
to several of his astronomer rivals.
to several of his astronomer rivals.
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(Laughter)
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And what this ensures is that,
if they later make the same discovery,
if they later make the same discovery,
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he can reveal the anagram
and get the credit,
and get the credit,
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but in the meantime, he hasn't given up
any knowledge at all.
any knowledge at all.
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And I'm sad to say that he was
not uncommon at the time:
not uncommon at the time:
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Newton, Huygens, Hooke, Leonardo --
they all used similar devices.
they all used similar devices.
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OK?
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The printing press had been around
for 150 years by this time.
for 150 years by this time.
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And yet, there was a great battle
in the 17th and 18th centuries
in the 17th and 18th centuries
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to change the culture of science,
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so that it became expected
that when a scientist made a discovery,
that when a scientist made a discovery,
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they would reveal it in a journal.
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Now, that's great that that change
has happened. It's terrific.
has happened. It's terrific.
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But today, we have new technologies,
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we have new opportunities
to share our knowledge in new ways
to share our knowledge in new ways
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and the ability to create tools
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that actually allow us
to solve problems in entirely new ways.
to solve problems in entirely new ways.
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So we need to have a second
open science revolution.
open science revolution.
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It is my belief
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that any publicly funded science
should be open science.
should be open science.
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How can we achieve this change?
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Well, if you're a scientist -- and I know
many of you are not scientists,
many of you are not scientists,
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but if you are a scientist,
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then there are things that you can do.
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You can get involved
in an open science project,
in an open science project,
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even if it's just for a small
fraction of your time.
fraction of your time.
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You can find forums online
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where you can share
your knowledge in new ways,
your knowledge in new ways,
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ways that allow other people
to build on that knowledge.
to build on that knowledge.
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You can also, if you're more ambitious,
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start an open science project of your own.
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If you're really bold,
you may wish to experiment
you may wish to experiment
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with entirely new ways of collaborating,
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in much the same way
as the Polymath Project did.
as the Polymath Project did.
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But above all, what you should do
is be very generous in giving credit
is be very generous in giving credit
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to those of your colleagues
who are practicing science in the open
who are practicing science in the open
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and to promote their work.
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It is only conservative scientific values
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that look down on these activities --
the sharing of data, the blogging,
the sharing of data, the blogging,
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or using of wikis and so on.
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You can reject those conservative values
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and engage your scientific
colleagues in conversation
colleagues in conversation
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to promote the value
of these new ways of working,
of these new ways of working,
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to emphasize that it takes bravery
to do these things,
to do these things,
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particularly by young scientists.
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It's through such conversation that
the culture of science can be changed.
the culture of science can be changed.
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So if you are not a scientist,
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there are also things that you can do.
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My belief is that the single most
important thing that we can do
important thing that we can do
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to give impetus to open science
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is to create a general awareness
amongst the population
amongst the population
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of the issue of open science
and of its critical importance.
and of its critical importance.
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If there is that general awareness,
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then the scientific community
will inevitably find --
will inevitably find --
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it will be dragged
by the population at large
by the population at large
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in the right direction.
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There are simple things you can do.
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You can talk to your friends
and acquaintances who are scientists
and acquaintances who are scientists
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and just ask them
what are they doing to work more openly.
what are they doing to work more openly.
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Or you can use your imagination
and your personal power
and your personal power
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to raise awareness in other ways.
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We're talking about changing
not just what scientists do
not just what scientists do
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but what grant agencies do,
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what universities do
and what governments do.
and what governments do.
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And you can influence all of those things.
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Our society faces a fundamental question:
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What kinds of knowledge
are we going to expect
are we going to expect
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and incentivize our scientists to share?
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Will we continue
as we have done in the past?
as we have done in the past?
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Or will we embrace new kinds of sharing,
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which lead to new methods
for solving problems
for solving problems
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and an acceleration
in the process of science,
in the process of science,
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entirely across the board?
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My hope is that we will
embrace open science
embrace open science
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and really seize
this opportunity that we have
this opportunity that we have
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to reinvent discovery itself.
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Thank you. (Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michael Nielsen - PhysicistA physicist turned writer, Michael Nielsen believes online communication and collaboration tools are revolutionizing the way we make scientific discoveries.
Why you should listen
A Fulbright scholar, Michael Nielsen not only made significant research contributions in the field of quantum physics, but also co-wrote the popular Quantum Computation and Quantum Information. He left academia to focus his research on “open science,” and recently published Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science -- a book that discusses the Internet’s ability to “amplify our collective intelligence” and the cultural obstacles of the scientific community impeding this dramatic shift.
Michael Nielsen | Speaker | TED.com