Academic freedom and the discovery of electroreception in catfish and dogfish

Abstract

AbstractA brief sketch is given of the changing interpretation of Academic Freedom at the universities in The Netherlands during the last half of the twentieth century, by discussing the discoveries of electroreception in catfish, Ameiurus nebulosus, and dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula. It is concluded that science is no longer hypothesis-driven, but money-driven. Whereas innovation and discoveries belong typically to the domain of the individual scientist and flourish in a bottom-up organisation, the funding agencies of today advocate a top-down approach to stimulate creativity. Apparently the resultant institutionalization has not the desired result.