Comments on: Second-mover advantage http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Fri, 25 May 2012 20:34:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Florian Lengyel http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25815 Florian Lengyel Tue, 27 Apr 2004 17:43:53 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25815 <i>A Santa Fe Institute-style complex systems analysis of the phenomenon</i> <p> To an extent, the lower one's Erdos number, the more one has in common with Erdos. Erdos had many collaborators; those with lower Erdos numbers tend to have more collaborators. Mathematics was a calling for Erdos; I flatter myself that this is generally true for those of us who have lower Erdos numbers. As the Erdos numbers increase, the sense that mathematics is a calling gives way to professional interest; around Erdos number three we observe the Erdos-three mind tormented by thoughts of commercial enterprise--thoughts which only occasionally perturb the equanimity of the Erdos-two mind; by the time we reach Erdos number four, a phase transition has occurred: the attitude of science as a calling has become transmogrified into the glib, hardened attitude that everything has its price. </p> A Santa Fe Institute-style complex systems analysis of the phenomenon

To an extent, the lower one’s Erdos number, the more one has in common with Erdos. Erdos had many collaborators; those with lower Erdos numbers tend to have more collaborators. Mathematics was a calling for Erdos; I flatter myself that this is generally true for those of us who have lower Erdos numbers. As the Erdos numbers increase, the sense that mathematics is a calling gives way to professional interest; around Erdos number three we observe the Erdos-three mind tormented by thoughts of commercial enterprise—thoughts which only occasionally perturb the equanimity of the Erdos-two mind; by the time we reach Erdos number four, a phase transition has occurred: the attitude of science as a calling has become transmogrified into the glib, hardened attitude that everything has its price.

]]> By: cdm http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25814 cdm Fri, 23 Apr 2004 00:16:28 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25814 kurotokage: Actually it wasn't, but that's pretty much the same idea. (The one I remember was much older, and I'm almost certain it dealt with co-authoring, not citations.) kurotokage: Actually it wasn’t, but that’s pretty much the same idea. (The one I remember was much older, and I’m almost certain it dealt with co-authoring, not citations.)

]]> By: Scipio http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25813 Scipio Thu, 22 Apr 2004 14:48:43 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25813 That's just messed up. Very cool, but come on, people. BTW, does anyone know how to get from Denzel Washington to Kevin Bacon in no more than one step? That’s just messed up. Very cool, but come on, people. BTW, does anyone know how to get from Denzel Washington to Kevin Bacon in no more than one step?

]]> By: Kurotokage http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25812 Kurotokage Wed, 21 Apr 2004 16:20:11 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25812 cdm: <a href="http://www.devpsy.org/humor/academic_chain_letter.html">This</a>was it. cdm: Thiswas it.

]]> By: Bill Tozier http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25811 Bill Tozier Wed, 21 Apr 2004 16:15:23 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25811 Oh, right -- that's not how it works, is it? Whew. Oh, right—that’s not how it works, is it? Whew.

]]> By: Bill Tozier http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25810 Bill Tozier Wed, 21 Apr 2004 16:12:31 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25810 <blockquote>I can only assume Eszter is waiting for you pair to compete yourselves into insolvency and then she can step in and really clean up in this segmented market.</blockquote> It gets worse: Ever since the old days of dotcomming, I still occasionally wake up in a cold sweat worried that <i>my supplier will disintermediate me.</i> I suddenly realize that Mark Newman must be made redundant!
I can only assume Eszter is waiting for you pair to compete yourselves into insolvency and then she can step in and really clean up in this segmented market.
It gets worse: Ever since the old days of dotcomming, I still occasionally wake up in a cold sweat worried that my supplier will disintermediate me. I suddenly realize that Mark Newman must be made redundant!

]]> By: cdm http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25809 cdm Wed, 21 Apr 2004 16:08:46 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25809 This reminds me of a wonderful spoof chain letter that was circulating in academia a decade or so ago: there was a list of names, and you were supposed to make the top person on the list co-author on your next paper, then remove that person from the list, put your name on the bottom, and send on to two more people. Or something like that... This reminds me of a wonderful spoof chain letter that was circulating in academia a decade or so ago: there was a list of names, and you were supposed to make the top person on the list co-author on your next paper, then remove that person from the list, put your name on the bottom, and send on to two more people. Or something like that…

]]> By: Bill Tozier http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25808 Bill Tozier Wed, 21 Apr 2004 15:31:40 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25808 Because his is being given away fro free, the inevitable scarcity as supplies are depleted will drive him out of business first. That's how it works, right? Because his is being given away fro free, the inevitable scarcity as supplies are depleted will drive him out of business first. That’s how it works, right?

]]> By: dsquared http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25807 dsquared Wed, 21 Apr 2004 14:51:33 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25807 I can only assume Eszter is waiting for you pair to compete yourselves into insolvency and then she can step in and <b>really</b> clean up in this segmented market. I can only assume Eszter is waiting for you pair to compete yourselves into insolvency and then she can step in and really clean up in this segmented market.

]]> By: Bill Tozier http://crookedtimber.org/2004/04/21/second-mover-advantage/comment-page-1/#comment-25806 Bill Tozier Wed, 21 Apr 2004 12:39:24 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=1441#comment-25806 One of many interesting things about the way the Open Source approach has caught on is that it really just made people conscious of the <i>status quo</i>. People have always, after all, written software for free and given it away. But now they do it with a better sense of the value of their effort. Your move reminds me that the status quo in science (at least in molecular biology) is a lot like software design was back in the day. I've worked in and next to a number of labs where absolutely useless senior people were added to papers as a matter of course. Generally, though, this was for <i>their</i> benefit, not that of the other authors. A suitable improvement, <i>even more</i> in line with the status quo, might be to allow your name to be placed on the paper <i>at the expense of two or three grad students.</i> Yup. That would definitely be a better match.... (Oh, and I've drafted an appropriate Press Release in response to your "competitive" move. Bah. What's that whining noise? :) ) One of many interesting things about the way the Open Source approach has caught on is that it really just made people conscious of the status quo. People have always, after all, written software for free and given it away. But now they do it with a better sense of the value of their effort. Your move reminds me that the status quo in science (at least in molecular biology) is a lot like software design was back in the day. I’ve worked in and next to a number of labs where absolutely useless senior people were added to papers as a matter of course. Generally, though, this was for their benefit, not that of the other authors. A suitable improvement, even more in line with the status quo, might be to allow your name to be placed on the paper at the expense of two or three grad students. Yup. That would definitely be a better match…. (Oh, and I’ve drafted an appropriate Press Release in response to your “competitive” move. Bah. What’s that whining noise? :) )

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