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'Like Insider Trading'

Apr 10, 2012

One part of reading grant proposals Proflife Substance particularly enjoys is that it makes him think about his own work differently. But, he says, "herein lies a dilemma with all reviewing — determining where the line is between stimulating independent thought and leaning on someone else's ideas."

Responding to Proflike, Namnezia says that generating research ideas based on another's proposal is arguably "like insider trading. … By the same topic, if you go to a meeting and get an idea from a poster and repeat the experiment better in your own lab, is this stealing?" she asks. Athene Donald expands on this, saying that a similar dilemma can arise when reviewing papers:

What you describe just sounds like one of the many ways creative ideas are generated and flow, but if you were actually working in an overlapping area, then it might indeed look like taking advantage of your privileged position. But, once you've read something how can you not store it away for future use? I believe this is equally a problem with composers.
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