ABSTRACT
A large proportion of the time and effort of scientists is spent in activities that have no obvious place in the traditional model of “basic science discovery leading to application in a marketable product.” Some of this time is spent on basic science that does not lead to application in a marketable product; this can be assimilated, though very problematically, to the traditional model by regarding it as failed effort or the production of a different kind of good, such as generally available scientific knowledge that can be seen as a “public good.” But an overwhelming proportion of the time and effort of scientists is spent on a series of activities that fit neither the core model nor its variations: writing grant proposals, negotiating revisions of proposals, evaluating proposals; evaluating other scientists for promotions or appointments, writing and reading letters on their behalf; evaluating students and postdocs, in ways ranging from grading students in classes to making admissions and funding decisions about them; reading (as a peerreviewer) articles, notes, abstracts, and the like submitted for publication or to conferences, and evaluating (as an editor) the comments made by referees; evaluating other scientists for prizes or awards, membership in honorific bodies; serving as a consultant and evaluating proposals, scientists, or ideas for firms; performing site visits on behalf of funding agencies, accreditation agencies, and the like.
