Let's say there are 7 billion people on earth. 0.000001% of 7 billion is 70. In practice, a scientific field may have 5-100 "leading experts". This estimate should be about right.
In other words, a leading expert is one among 100 million. Are they many, or are they few? Either way, it sounds miraculous.
Of course there are some tricks in the number. Unlike Olympic games or professional sports, we do not play exactly the same game. A specialty is further sub-categorized, and occasionally the small divided sub-categories cross-pollinate to generate a new or a unique field.
Science does not work like "oh, everyone is doing the same thing and it is great". It is very elitist, yet collective discipline at the edge. People may take different approaches, yet solve a problem with collective efforts. Science does have a progressive nature, too.
This week I was finishing sample collection from some mice for a research project. Sometimes delegating this task do not work due to schedule conflict and other reasons (shrug). Also, seeing cancer myself helps to confirm what I am working on and talking about. While stretching my back after 2.5 hours sample collection session today, I was wondering how many other people are working on the same thing. Hopefully zero. And it is a good thing. I don't like competition.
Although people tend to believe an important problem attracts fierce competition among many, it is not always true.
Some time ago, I was taking a quiz for my political tendency. I was surprised when the result placed me among the libertarians. But perhaps, from my professional habits it may not be surprising after all.
