Azhir Mahmood  🚀 🤖 🧬 🧠 🪐

As an example, right now everyone I work with communicates online exclusively. This has radically slowed progress on all but the most well defined tasks (eg. iterating a working manuscript). When it comes to actually building ideas with other people, there's no substitute for IRL

And as for conferences/seminars: here's an interesting fact. Every single successful collaboration I have formed began at a conference or in discussions after a seminar. This might have happened online, but again, the delicate initial seeding of ideas hasn't worked yet for me.

Right. We're not quite there yet, but I feel more positive about the chance of doing this online than you. Still needs work but feels doable.

Again, why not do *both, BETTER*? Not everyone is the same.

Because of the huge environmental and financial costs, and the effect it has on equity, diversity, inclusion?

We can do more local conferences, use funding to improve inclusion and diversity, and also post the talks online… So you can get both, no?

Depends whether or not you can avoid a division into first and second class participants based on whether or not they can afford to attend in person.

I don't think we should kid ourselves that online science will automatically fix inequality. If there's less travel, maybe institutions clustered in rich cities will have even more of an edge. Because people, being people, will inevitably travel locally to meet in real life.