EFTA02713070.pdf

From: jeffrey E. <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 9:41 AM To: Larry Cohen Subject: Fwd: One Science post Forwarded messag= From: Joichi Ito < <mailto > >= Date: Mon, Sep 29, 2014 at 8:55 PM Subject: One Science post=br>To: Jeffrey Epstein <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]» https://w=w.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140930004656-1391-antidisciplinary <https://www.linkedin.com/puls=hrticle/20140930004656-1391-antidisciplinary> One of the first words that I learned when I joined the Media Lab was "=antidisciplinary." It was listed an a requirement in an ad seeking ap=licants for a new faculty position. The word defies easy definition. But w=at it means to me is someone or something that doesn't fit within trad=tional academic discipline---a field of study with=its own particular words, frameworks, and methods. Most academics are judg=d by how many times they have published in prestigious, peer-reviewed jour=als. Peer review usually consists of the influential members of your field=reviewing your work and deciding whether it is important and unique. This =rchitecture often leads to a dynamic where researchers focus more on impre=sing a small number of experts in their own field than on taking the high =isk of an unconventional approach. This dynamic reinforces the cliche=of academics—learning more and more about less and less. It causes=a hyper- specialization where people in different areas have a very difficu=t time collaborating—or even communicating—with people in =ifferent fields. For me, antidisciplinary research is akin to mathematicia= Stanislaw Ulam's famous observation that the study of non-linear =hysics is like the study of "non-elephant animals." Antidi=ciplinary is all about the non-elephant animals. The Media Lab focuses on "uniqueness, impact and magic." What our=students and faculty do should be unique. We shouldn't be doing so=ething that someone else is doing. If someone else starts doing it, we sho=ld stop. Everything we do should have impact. Lastly, things should induce=us to be passionate and should go beyond incremental thinking. "Magic=quot; means that we take on projects that inspire us. In theLifelong Kinde=garten group, researchers often describe the "Four Ps of Creative Lea=ning" as Projects, Peers, Passion and Play. Play is extremely importa=t for creative learning. There is a great deal of research showing that re=ards and pressure can motivate people to "produce," but creative=learning and thinking requires the "space" that play creates. Pr=ssure and rewards can often diminish that space, and thus, squash creative=thinking. The kind of scholars we are looking for at the Media Lab are people who don=#39;t fit in any existing discipline either because they are between =94or simply beyond—disciplines. I often say that if you can do wha= you want to do in any other lab or department, you should go do it there.=Only come to the Media Lab if there is nowhere else where you could do wha= you want to do. We are the home of the misfits—the antidisciplina=ians. When I think about the "space" that we've created, I like=to think about a huge piece of paper that represents "all science.&qu=t; The disciplines are little black dots on this paper. The massive amount= of white space between the dots represent antidisciplinary space. Many pe=ple would like to play in this white space, but there is very little fundi=g for this, and it's even harder to get a tenured positions without so=e sort of disciplinary anchor in one of the black dots. EFTA_R1_02133799 EFTA02713070 As we engage in tackling harder and harder problems that require many field= and perspectives, the separation of disciplines appears to be causing mor= and more damage. The complex system that is the human body has become imp=ssibly multi-disciplinary. We should really be working on "One Scienc=," but instead we are a mosaic of different disciplines sometimes not=even recognizing when we are looking at the same problem because our langu=ge is so different and microscopes are set so differently. The Center for =xtreme Bionics at the Media Lab lead by Hugh Herr,Ed Boyden and Bob Langer=is working on eliminating a variety of human disabilities involving mechan=cal engineering, computational optics, tissue science, genetic engineering= robotics, neuroscience and hundreds of other sciences and technologies th=t would never fit in any traditional department or lab. Media Lab co-founder Nicholas Negroponte famously coined a twist on the aca=emic dictum that faculty must "publish or perish." Media L=b faculty, he said, must "demo or die." I have made a modi=ication— "Deploy or die." I'd like all of the Lab =80 s faculty and students thinking about how their work ultimately deplo=s in the world, and if they can deploy it themselves, even better. I think this philosophy of working together on big projects will help bring=researchers together across disciplines — creating a single scienc= instead of fragmented disciplines. We will still need disciplines, but I =hink that it's time we focus on a higher mission and the changes neede= in academia and research funding to allow more people to work in the wide=open white space between disciplines — the antidisciplinary space.=br> =C2 please note The information contained in t=is communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, ma= constitute inside information, and is intended only for the use of =he addressee. It is the property of JEE Unauthorized use, disclosure=or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohib=ted and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in =rror, please notify us immediately by return e-mail or by e-mail to [email protected]=m, and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, includ=ng all attachments. copyright -all rights reserved 2 EFTA_R1_02133800 EFTA02713071