Chapter 14 - Scientific Elasticity

Summary

Louis Pasteur is considered by many to be one of the most influential scientists in history, with his interests spanning from chemistry to biology to immunology. This type of wandering isn’t uncommon during a scientist’s career, which is often driven by curiosity and a willingness to explore new fields. But how feasible is it to incentivize or force scientists to change their research pursuits, a concept known as elasticity, thus changing the direction of biomedical discoveries? How much would it take to divert a modern Pasteur away from his own natural scientific interests? Chapter 14 explores the costs associated with incentivizing a scientist to pursue new research directions, the extent to which the pharmaceutical industry is elastic, and how we can more generally steer pursuits towards areas society deems important.