Nullius in Verba
Nullius in Verba is a podcast about science—what it is and what it could be. It is hosted by Smriti Mehta from UC Berkeley and Daniël Lakens from Eindhoven University of Technology. We draw inspiration from the book Novum Organum, written in 1620 by Francis Bacon, which laid the foundations of the modern scientific method. Our logo is an homage to the title page of Novum Organum, which depicts a galleon passing between the mythical Pillars of Hercules on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar, which have been smashed by Iberian sailors to open a new world for exploration. Just as this marks the exit from the well-charted waters of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic Ocean, Bacon hoped that empirical investigation will similarly smash the old scientific ideas and lead to a greater understanding of the natural world. The title of the podcast comes from the motto of the Royal Society, set in typeface Kepler by Robert Slimbach. Our theme song is Newton’s Cradle by Grandbrothers.
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Episodes
Friday Apr 07, 2023
Friday Apr 07, 2023
In this episode, we discuss the insatiable itch to publish, starting with a quote from 1927 by sociologist Clarence Case on the dictum “Publish or perish.” We discuss ways in which individual goals to publish conflict with the broader scientific goal of producing useful knowledge. We also question the assumptions behind the notion that publishing less would be beneficial for science.
Shownotes
Case, C. M. (1927). Scholarship in sociology. Sociology and Social Research, 12, 323-340 (Publish or perish)
Phaf, R. H. (2020). Publish less, read more. Theory & Psychology, 30(2), 263–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354319898250
The term "insanabile scribendi cacoethes" comes from: Merton, R. K. (1968). The Matthew effect in science: The reward and communication systems of science are considered. Science, 159(3810), 56-63.
Friday Mar 24, 2023
Friday Mar 24, 2023
In this episode, we discuss the role of eminence in science. What ask questions like: What makes scientists eminent? What role does eminence play in science? Can eminence be spread across scientific teams instead of individuals? And how can we recognize and applaud scientists for their contributions, while avoiding conferring too many benefits on scientists who do become eminent?
Shownotes
Eminent psychologists of the 20th century
Intel - Our rock stars aren't like your rock stars
Friday Mar 10, 2023
Friday Mar 10, 2023
In our third episode, we discuss confirmation bias, which affects not only how scientists generate and test their own hypotheses, but also how they evaluate the scientific evidence presented by others. We discuss guardrails against confirmation bias that are already in place, and others that could potentially improve scientific practice if adopted.
Shownotes
Wason, P. C. (1960). On the failure to eliminate hypotheses in a conceptual task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12(3), 129-140.
Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175-220.
Mellers, B., Hertwig, R., & Kahneman, D. (2001). Do frequency representations eliminate conjunction effects? An exercise in adversarial collaboration. Psychological Science, 12(4), 269-275.
Coles, N. A., March, D. S., Marmolejo-Ramos, F., Larsen, J. T., Arinze, N. C., Ndukaihe, I. L., ... & Liuzza, M. T. (2022). A multi-lab test of the facial feedback hypothesis by the many smiles collaboration. Nature Human Behaviour, 1-12.
Dutilh, G., Sarafoglou, A., & Wagenmakers, E. J. (2021). Flexible yet fair: Blinding analyses in experimental psychology. Synthese, 198(23), 5745-5772.
Sarafoglou, A., Hoogeveen, S., & Wagenmakers, E. J. (2023). Comparing analysis blinding with preregistration in the many-analysts religion project. Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science, 6(1), 25152459221128319.
Faster-than-light neutrino anomaly
Friday Mar 03, 2023
Friday Mar 03, 2023
In our second episode, we discuss the role of skepticism in science, a topic that relates closely to the title of our podcast. Given that the scientific enterprise is essentially an exercise in organized skepticism, how can we maintain a healthy amount of skepticism while also ensuring that scientists don't slip into cynicism or nihilism?
Shownotes
Opening quote by Imre Lakatos from Science and Pseudoscience. Hear it from the man himself.
Ego depletion
Ioannidis, J. P. (2005). Why most published research findings are false. PLoS Medicine, 2(8), e124. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124
Wacholder, S., Chanock, S., Garcia-Closas, M., El Ghormli, L., & Rothman, N. (2004). Assessing the probability that a positive report is false: an approach for molecular epidemiology studies. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 96(6), 434-442. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djh075
Quote by Debra Mayo. Original reference: Mayo, D. G. (2018). Statistical inference as severe testing: How to get beyond the statistics wars. Cambridge University Press.
Friday Feb 24, 2023
Friday Feb 24, 2023
In our first episode, we discuss a quote from the preface to The Instauratio Magna (of which Novum Organum is a part), in which Bacon claims that scientists should be motivated to do science for the betterment of mankind, and not for personal motives like fame, fortune, or even fun.
Here is the tweet (by Heidi Seibold) on academia not being aligned with good scientific practices.
An unedited transcript of the episode can be found here.
Sunday Feb 19, 2023
Sunday Feb 19, 2023
In this introductory episode, Daniël and Smriti share which podcasts they like, why they are starting their own, and how their connection to each other is also tied to podcasting. They also talk about the theme of the podcast, which is inspired by Francis Bacon’s delineation of the scientific method 400 years ago.