17. Promise Theory

Give and take in the world of agents

There’s an unspoken bond between researchers. You don’t criticize the tenets of the field in which you work; you don’t try to do anything to undermine the fragile status quo. It’s sometimes a hard promise to keep. It’s the opposite of what scientists should do, if they keep their promise to science, but it’s the human face of it. If you break this covenant, you will no longer be welcome within the tribe.

This thinking contrasts with the self-image that scientists have of themselves as liberal thinkers who can…