Scientific Definition
Grant cycles favor safe, incremental work over high-risk breakthroughs.
Plain-English Definition
Grant cycles favor safe, incremental work over high-risk breakthroughs.
Feynman Explanation
Pay only for sure things, and you'll pay for nothing new.
Core Principle
Grant cycles favor safe, incremental work over high-risk breakthroughs.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Grant cycles favor safe, incremental work over high-risk breakthroughs.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Funder risk preferences shape national R&D portfolios.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Pay only for sure things, and you'll pay for nothing new.
Examples
- Mid-career scientists drifting toward predictable proposals.
- Funder risk preferences shape national R&D portfolios.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Carve-outs for high-risk grants. Lottery-style allocation tranches.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Carve-outs for high-risk grants. Lottery-style allocation tranches.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Tenure-track jobs replaced by low-paid adjuncts, lowering cost and quality.
Seat-time accountability rewards presence over engagement.
Employers screen by school name, rewarding admission rather than developed skill.
Schools optimize for ranking inputs (selectivity, spending) instead of student outcomes.
Tying institutional survival to graduate salaries forces schools to drop social-service programs.
Grade-driven admissions reward strategic course-picking over intellectual risk.
Professors rewarded by student evaluations have an incentive to inflate.
Schools judged on completion rates have an incentive to pass underprepared students.
More homework signals rigor to parents but often produces burnout, not understanding.
Universities optimize for ranking metrics rather than education quality.
A single test format constrains pedagogy and disadvantages diverse learners.
Easy federal lending lets colleges raise tuition without market discipline.