A recent editorial published by Nature discusses adversarial collaboration, a form of collaboration that brings together supporters of rival theories to test their ideas against one another in the name of advancing science. The concept was developed by researchers Daniel Kahneman and Anne Treisman to combat “angry science” and “the nasty world of critiques, replies, and rejoinders.” It advances science by getting competing groups—who must each be willing to accept the possibility that their theory is incorrect—to work together and arrive at a shared truth. The article offers a case study of how adversarial collaboration was used to better understand how subjective experiences of emotion are influenced by an individual’s facial expressions. In conclusion, the authors call for the revival of the collegial spirit in future collaborations in order to advance science.
