Working Group on Critical Technical Practice
- Is this popular method or benchmark really reliable?
- Am I doing the right thing by following a conventional practice in research and technical development?
- What is the meaning of research/technical development beyond publishing papers/launching products?
- ……
Have you ever raised doubts about certain aspects in your research and technical practice, doubts that shouldn’t be raised or are told to ignore?
If so, you are not alone.
- We want to create a working group to discuss doubts in research and technical practice.
- We will collectively explore how to turn this skepticism into formal inquiries and research findings.
- Our goal is to improve the scientific rigor and responsibility in technical standards, common methods, and conventional practices of your particular technical field.
Skepticism and self-correction are the core features that make science robust and reliable. So let’s make them well function in our technical practice!
“Critical technical practice” denotes the systematic approach to critically inspect assumptions and justifications in common technical practices, and understand weaknesses, flaws, and boundaries of a technique, analogous to strengthening our technical “immune system”.
From this working group, we will collectively:
- Inspect the underlying assumptions and justifications in a certain aspect of technical practice that you doubt about.
- Develop practical tools and methodologies of conducting critical technical practice/inspections for technical and non-technical audiences and the public.
The working group is open to all students and faculties in any technical field.
