My suspicion from dealing with Reviewer 2 over a 30-year career was that PIs can contribute by supporting balance in e.g., journal clubs. I think new generations of GLPs are raised at PhD/postdoc level, when trainees are encouraged to be destructively critical of other labs' work.
Let's talk about "grumpy lab person". Many labs have them. With an eye to keeping science at its most rigorous, they cross the line into criticism that's too harsh. They are the ones who risk killing your scientific spirit. They are reviewer 2. /1
Jan 21, 2026 08:55I also think that there's some natural variation in trait levels of scepticism versus open-mindedness. The strongly sceptical can be an advantage in a balanced team, if they can reign in the destructive tendency. As Nicole says it can kill the spirit.
