Once upon a time there were people with an inquisitive mind. Bewildered by the immensity of the universe, they sat under a tree, observed and tried to understand the laws of life and came with some answers. They were alone, but their contribution to science was invaluable.
Many years later these people could not believe their luck, as they were allowed to gather together in institutes and universities and share their information. In some countries even the government was interested in their discoveries and provided funding for their work. No questions were asked, total trust was given as was belief in their creative capacities. A boom in science, innovative ideas followed, together with huge numbers of meaningful scientific publications and technical developments.
Scared by their success, politicians decided to keep scientist under control. Their work was carefully scrutinised. Unhealthy competition and a lack of trust started then to creep into these institutions. Scientists were made to evaluate each other’s work and competition for money, ideas and publications poisoned scientific relationships.
But this was not enough.