I see each group reaching the same or similar conclusions, but months apart. This suggest to me they are not collaborating with one another. It feels to me like there is a gap.
Think of it this way. If there were a giant asteroid heading towards earth and we have a limited time to solve this problem, would I want 500 teams all operating by themselves and using the incredibly slow process of sharing data via NIH / NIST and other research paper repositories, or would I want them all in a war room (virtual or physical) and someone coordinating the effort to risk rank all the solutions and quickly form action plans? My vote is the latter. It feels like the scientific community may have artificially painted themselves into a corner because of something like the banana ladder conundrum. [1] meaning, doing it that way because that is the way it has always been done.
I think the issue here is less that they are arriving at the same conclusion months apart, and more that the reporting makes it sound like a sudden, recent revelation rather than a consensus that has been building for months and months.
they're not _independently_ reaching similar conclusions months apart, they're strengthening (and writing about) the same conclusion from the same and more data.
Peer review is the heart and soul of scientific research. I do think there is room to speed up collaboration, but we should not compromise the rigidity of the scientific method, especially with as many unknowns as with the current coronavirus, establishing definite knowns is very valuable.
Think of it this way. If there were a giant asteroid heading towards earth and we have a limited time to solve this problem, would I want 500 teams all operating by themselves and using the incredibly slow process of sharing data via NIH / NIST and other research paper repositories, or would I want them all in a war room (virtual or physical) and someone coordinating the effort to risk rank all the solutions and quickly form action plans? My vote is the latter. It feels like the scientific community may have artificially painted themselves into a corner because of something like the banana ladder conundrum. [1] meaning, doing it that way because that is the way it has always been done.
[1] - https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/33470/what-tech...