From: Joichi Ito Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 9:28 PM To: Jeffrey Epstein Subject: Antidisciplinary Science Fellows Proposal Replace Antidiscipinary with whatever =ord... Proposal: Antidisciplinary Science Fellows =rogram MIT Media =ab April =016 The MIT Media Lab seeks support for a fellowship =rogram in Antidisciplinary Science. The Lab is a leader in this area, =hich promises to fundamentally rethink research and practice around =cientific inquiry. We seek $12 million to fund and operate the first =hree years of this fellowship program. Today, we face a crisis in science. Academic =cience is not leading to breakthrough innovations, and the disciplinary =tructures of the academy are largely to blame. Certain types of =esearch are recognized and rewarded, and become defined as disciplines. =s this happens, people begin talking only to a very small peer group, =ften by publishing in a small number of very specific journals. =eanwhile, we believe the most important scientific questions today =elide in the spaces between disciplines. In contrast to interdisciplinary work where people =rom different disciplines work together, the Media Lab is driven by =/span>antidisciplinary work. =nbsp;An antidisciplinary project isn't a sum of many =isciplines but something entirely new—the word defies easy =efinition. But what it means to the Media Lab is someone or something =hat doesn't fit within a traditional academic discipline—a =ield of study with its own particular words, frameworks, and methods. =ost academics are judged by how many times they have published in =restigious, peer-reviewed journals. This system often leads researchers =o align their work to the dictates of peer review rather than risking =he potential repercussions of an unconventional approach. Indeed, the =urrent peer review system causes hyper-specialization where people in =ifferent fields have a very difficult time collaborating—or =ven communicating—with people in other fields.