Metaventory — the meta-science community

A Vision of Metascience

How does the culture of science change and improve? Many people have identified shortcomings in core social processes of science, such as peer review, how grants are awarded, how people are selected to become scientists, and so on. Yet despite often compelling criticisms, strong barriers inhibit widespread change in such social processes. The result is near stasis, and apathy about the prospects for improvement. People sometimes start new research institutions intended to do things differently; unfortunately such institutions are often changed more by the existing ecosystem than they change it. In this essay we sketch a vision of how the social processes of science may be rapidly improved. In this vision, metascience plays a key role: it deepens our understanding of which social processes best support discovery; that understanding can then help drive change. We introduce the notion of a metascience entrepreneur, a person seeking to achieve a scalable improvement in the social processes of science. We argue that: (1) metascience is an imaginative design practice, exploring an enormous design space for social processes; (2) that exploration aims to find new social processes which unlock latent potential for discovery; (3) decentralized change must be possible, so outsiders with superior ideas can't be blocked by established power centers; (4) ideally, change would align with what is best for science and for humanity, not merely what is fashionable, politically popular, or media-friendly; (5) the net result would be a far more structurally diverse set of environments for doing science; and (6) this would enable crucial types of work difficult or impossible within existing environments. For this vision to succeed metascience must develop and intertwine three elements: an imaginative design practice, an entrepreneurial discipline, and a research field. Overall, it is a vision in which metascience is an engine of improvement for the social processes and ultimately the culture of science.

Mapping an Ecology of Integrative Approaches to Addressing the Metacrisis

Dear friends, The Institute of Applied Metatheory (IAM) is pleased to announce the release of a new white paper that charts the landscape of leading-edge responses to the global metacrisis. In “Mapping an Ecology of Integrative Approaches to Addressing the Metacrisis”, IAM scholars Brandon Norgaard, Nicholas Hedlund, PhD, and Claudia Meglin provide a sweeping (albeit

Metascience for whom? A question as old as science.

Before we fix science, we need to ask who built it!

Metascience Since 2012: A Personal History

This essay is a personal history of the $60+ million I allocated to metascience starting in 2012 while working for the Arnold Foundation (now Arnold Ventures).

Metagov

Metagov is a laboratory for digital governance. Our mission is to cultivate tools, practices, and communities that enable self-governance in the digital age.

AI Review and the Golden Age of Metascience

When I was a Ph.D.

Meta is trying to win the AI race with money — but not everyone can be bought

“You’re expected to give pretty much your whole self to Meta AI.”

Metacrisis - an Introduction | Metacrisis

In an era defined by global catastrophic risk, polycrisis describes a collection of escalating crises and their complex interactions. Metacrisis points to the common, foundational conditions that generate and sustain these crises.This site offers an accessible introduction to metacrisis: what it is, how it relates to polycrisis, and why it matters. The emphasis is on clarity and rigor rather than drama: presenting the key ideas in a calm, factual way.

I Fed the People Building the Metaverse

On AI, male ego, and other reasons I no longer believe technology is magic

Meta must face youth addiction lawsuit by Massachusetts, court rules

The decision follows a landmark trial in which a ​jury found Meta and Google negligent for designing social media platforms that are harmful to young people.

Science Live - The Platform for FAIR Research

Transform research into FAIR nanopublications. Create, discover, cite, and embed structured knowledge bricks.

Sensemaking Networks: Project Introduction - Cosmik Labs

Incorporating science social media into the scientific process