Two thoughts, in particular, stand out. In any sufficiently large field of study:
(a) there is no single person who is an authority, and
(b) at any given moment, there will be many people working independently on the same problem. To anyone who has done any type of research, these are self-evident truths. Ignorance and uncertainty, as well as a vast and chaotic literature are inevitable by-products of a free research environment. When there is no such freedom, it is easy for one to become an authority and, once an authority, to make sure that everyone in one’s charge is working together on the same problem; at that stage, it is only a small step to further ensure, as Lysenko did in Soviet Russia, that everyone uncovers the same results, their truth notwithstanding.
