Part 07 Why are we scientists?

Part 07 – Why are we scientists? Because it is fun and exciting to explore the unknown. So far, I have been using this blog to go a bit deeper into the topic than the 2:20 min of the videos on Twitter allows. The videos actually are more like a teaser for a certain...

Part 06 Research like a business

Part 06 – Research like a business There are more similarities between starting a research group and starting a small business then I would have imagined before becoming a PI. The video of this episode is basically raising the question: How much is being a scientist...

Part 05 Metrics

Part 05 – Metrics Should we not get away from numbers that we calculate to compare each other? I guess, that most researchers will agree that the journal impact factor (JIF) is not a very useful tool for measuring scientific quality or output. However, besides the...

Part 04 Covid and everyday scientific life

Part 04 – Covid and everyday scientific life Time is probably the most valuable good for a researcher. We have lost a lot. At first I didn’t want to do an episode of Black Box Science about Covid. It seemed too complex and divers to pack it into a 2:20 min video and...

Part 03 Distorted View on Science

Part 03 – Distorted View on Science Science doesn’t always go in straight lines Everybody working as a researcher for a little while knows that scientific projects often don’t go in a straight line exactly according to the original plan. Often we discover new...