Does interaction/communication among scientists improve with distance? Do you think scientists communicate the same with next-door colleagues than with those in other countries and continents? for some (increasing amount?), it seems harder to engage in productive discussions with people from their own departments than with colleagues from other institutions and distant countries, affecting the way working groups and future projects are planned and created. Often, international intergubernamental relationships start there and the future of international collaboration is therefore designed there too.
Do you agree? if so, why you think that happens? how would you solve it?
Scientists definitely communicate better with the one next to them than with those who are distant. Communication not only played a significant role in the emergence of consciousness, it plays a very significant role in scientific creation. Hence, teamwork is so essential to achieve relevant scientific results, that can occur, among other causes, because the exchange of ideas arouses a synergy that is only achieved in a face-to-face environment. Communication in the distance is cold, dehumanized, does not have the emotional burden of face-to-face. Language is the material envelope of thought, in the face-to-face exchange ideas arise that rarely appear in the virtuality of an exchange through networks or by any non-face-to-face means. Example I live this communication, we both speak Spanish, but we both write in English, a language that is not ours, but the universal language of scientific communication. There are many ways to solve these problems, but the vast majority go through money and our universities are poor to guarantee group work spaces, for the moment I think that the only way we have is to improve virtual communication and the differences in Access between our countries is still difficult to communicate. It is best to realize projects in networks that allow us to meet to work.
That is question, which has a lot of different facets and the central part of all of them is called trust. We can build interaction and communication on long distances but psychologically there is one human trait spoiling trustworthy co-operations with people 'out-of-my-tribe'.
Yes, you got it right. We know from various studies that what is outside of my house, tribe, village, or nation is treated with suspicion and as potentially dangerous. Subconsciously, we do not give to those interactions as high value as with our peers.
This is it. This presence of foreign elements encourage us to disobey, betray, do not trust, break rules more often with 'foreigners' than with our peers.
It takes a lot of effort from both sides to overcome those natural tendencies and build something valuable, better than any singe participant of this process can achieve alone.
On the other hand, there are existing 'scientists' who are intentionally exploiting other more gifted & especially young researchers by pretending cooperation in the name monopolizing the results of this interaction.
In any case, careful interaction with peers online -- for example using RG -- is substantially increasing the communication speed and scientific progress. I remember time when we were everything looking up in local libraries or asking to deliver between them, it took ages and was much less efficient.
Now, in the era of the Internet, we face the exactly opposing situation. Overabundance of information and our inability to pick up the most important one. In this, our peers can provide us great help even on long distances.
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