
Who Really Found the Higgs Boson - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/issue/18/genius/who-really-found-the-higgs-boson-rd
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Someone1234
Does this mean Nobel Prizes in science might soon be effectively redundant?
Seems already a little farcical, but nobody blinks and eyelid at a movie star
being given credit/prizes for an entire movie because they happen to be the
front [wo]man.

PS - Before someone argues with the movie example, let me ask you this: When
was the last time a movie star got e.g. an Oscar while staring in a bad movie?
If it is really for acting alone, then someone should be able to get it by
being in a really bad piece of shit but absolutely killing it for their part.
But that never happens, it is always for blockbusters that otherwise do really
well (e.g. great direction, writing, lighting, etc).

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wnevets
>it is always for AAA blockbusters

You had me up till this part, what is your definition of a AAA blockbuster
movie?

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Someone1234
I've removed the term "AAA" since it both doesn't really mean anything and is
hard to quantify.

I've just left it as "blockbusters" which has a more concrete definition:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbuster_(entertainment)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbuster_\(entertainment\))

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ssivark
_" The original founders infused a collaborative ethic into every person that
joined by eschewing personal credit, talking through conflicts face to face,
and discussing almost everything in open meetings. But that ethic is codified
nowhere; there is no written code of conduct. And yet it is embraced, almost
religiously, by everyone that I spoke with."_

Abstracting one possible lesson beyond the specific context -- to me this is
an example of an organization where they (successfully) maintain an emphasis
on one of their core values by building their culture and habitat around it,
rather than typical carrot-and-stick methods. That they've managed this with
people spread over multiple countries and backgrounds is a tremendous
achievement!

 _" [...] ATLAS management led with little or no formal authority. Most people
in the collaboration work directly “for” someone who is in no way related to
their home institute, which actually writes their paycheck. For example,
during the construction phase, the project leader of the ATLAS pixel detector,
one of its most data-intensive components, worked for a U.S. laboratory in
California. His direct subordinate, the project engineer, worked for an
institute in Italy. Even though he was managing a critical role in the
production process, the project leader had no power to promote, discipline, or
even formally review the project engineer’s performance. His only recourse was
discussion, negotiation, and compromise. ATLAS members are more likely to feel
that they work with someone, rather than for them."_

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jarek
I had a chance to visit CERN recently - they aren't kidding about the
thousands of names on the paper, the scale of the project is enormous, and the
ATLAS detector up close is like a space ship engine from a scifi movie. The
main CERN campus feels very much Silicon Valley, only with older buildings.
(The visitor information centres are neat and interesting too!)

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mlyang
This is a fascinating article. I wonder to what, if any, degree this
methodology stifles innovation because innovators aren't rewarded. It seems
from the article that ATLAS did not think the Nobel Prize was awarded properly
to the correct people...would that affect their research in the future?

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trombone7
No, the motivation is increased chances for postdocs or lecture positions.
Possibly a politician in a funding agency got dissapointed...

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hyperion2010
I like how the praise the management style without discussing the massive cost
overruns the project has incurred.

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jarek
Can you briefly discuss some of the projects that built a 27 km tunnel, packed
it full of cutting-edge technology, and didn't incur a cost overrun?

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hyperion2010
I'm sure I could point you to a Tokyo subway project that didn't have a cost
overrun.

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jarek
Those don't exactly have supercooled superconducting magnets or elemental
particle detectors kind of cutting-edge technology though.

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modifier
Most great inventors in history (an estimated 90 percent) are ripped off and
never received credit and monetary compensation for their genius and hard
work: [http://cbpowerandindustrial.wordpress.com/2014/06/26/when-
ha...](http://cbpowerandindustrial.wordpress.com/2014/06/26/when-hard-work-
didnt-pay-off/)

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trombone7
Why u no CMS internet? Oh u ATLAS

