title: Competitive science: is competition ruining science?
abstract: Science has always been a competitive undertaking. Despite recognition of the benefits of cooperation and team science, reduced availability of funding and jobs has made science more competitive than ever. Here we consider the benefits of competition in providing incentives to scientists and the adverse effects of competition on resource sharing, research integrity, and creativity. The history of science shows that transformative discoveries often occur in the absence of competition, which only emerges once fields are established and goals are defined. Measures to encourage collaboration and ameliorate competition in the scientific enterprise are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Microbiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA fcfang@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Ferric C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Departments of Microbiology & Immunology and Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Casadevall
mesh_terms: D003163:Competitive Behavior; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D059232:Laboratory Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D012586:Science / Q000639:trends*