From: jeffrey E. <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2016 10:34 PM To: Joichi Ito Subject: Re: Antidisciplinary Science Fellows Proposal 011 331 441 70210 On Thu, May 12, 2016 at 11:28 PM, loichi Ito <mailto > wrote: The MIT Media Lab seeks support for a fellowship pro=ram in Antidisciplinary Science. The Lab is a leader in this area, which p=omises to fundamentally rethink research and practice around scientific in=uiry. We seek $12 million to fund and operate the first three years of thi= fellowship program. Today, we fa=e a crisis in science. Academic science is not leading to breakthrough inn=vations, and the disciplinary structures of the academy are largely to bla=e. Certain types of research are recognized and rewarded, and become defin=d as disciplines. As this happens, people begin talking only to a very sma=l peer group, often by publishing in a small number of very specific journ=ls. Meanwhile, we believe the most important scientific questions today re=ide in the spaces between disciplines. work. An antidisciplinary project isn =99t a sum of many disciplines but something entirely new—the word =efies easy definition. But what it means to the Media Lab is someone or so=ething that doesn't fit within a traditional academic discipline =94a field of study with its own particular words, frameworks, and methods.=Most academics are judged by how many times they have published in prestig=ous, peer-reviewed journals. This system often leads researchers to align =heir work to the dictates of peer review rather than risking the potential=repercussions of an unconventional approach. Indeed, the current peer revi=w system causes hyper-specialization where people in different fields have=a very difficult time collaborating—or even communicating—=ith people in other fields. When =oi thinks about the "space" the Lab has created, he likes =o imagine a huge piece of paper that represents "all science. =80 The disciplines, such as "c