What are examples of Slow Science?
The Clock Of The Long Now has a section on Slow Science – extremely long term scientific studies whose datasets tend to gain in value over time rather than diminish. I find this idea very intriguing.
Examples of Slow Science (10+ year studies):
- Mauna Loa CO2 records, which show the effects of global warming (and thus prove it)
- George Schaller Serengeti lion research
- Jane Goodall chimpanzee work
- Agricultural research at the Rothamsted estate
- US Census data (instituted in 1790)
- Does the Long Now Institute have anything like this? Protocol Institute?
According to the book, Slow Science is rare because long-term scientific studies:
- Aren’t about proving or disproving specific hypotheses
- Don’t generate quick papers
- Bear no relation to scientific fashion
- Aren’t subject to money-making patent or copyright
- Usually die when their primary researcher dies
- Are extremely difficult to maintain funding for
- Ever-growing archives are an expensive hassle to service & keep accessible
A very related idea that’s also been on my mind lately is that the net present value of many forms of data is extremely high. Storage is cheap enough that one can realistically warehouse large amounts of data. There’s no need to have a clear hypothesis or use case in mind when deciding whether to store something. This has been obviously true for many years now (eg big tech companies keeping as much data as they can get their hands on), but it feels like with LLMs & storage costs where they are, it makes sense now even at the individual level.