Abstract:
Although science has been an incredibly powerful and revolutionary force, it is not clear whether science is suited to performance under pressure; generally, science achieves best in its usual comfort zone of patience, caution, and slowness. But if science is organized knowledge and acts as a guiding force for making informed decisions, it is important to understand how science and scientists perform as a reliable and valuable institution in a global crisis such as COVID-19. This paper provides insights and reflections looking at aspects such as speed, transparency, trust, data sharing, scientists in the political arena, and the psychology of scientists; all of which are areas inviting more detailed investigation by future studies conducting systematic empirical studies.