Ok. This is something I’d be interested in hearing some feedback on. If there was a comment section here which is something I’d like to add one day.
I cringe a bit when I hear people say, “my paper”. I get why. I do it too so I’m calling myself out here too. But the reason why I think we should stop doing this is that it makes us think that our work somehow belongs to us. I’ve been trying to make myself recognize that the work I do is a contribution to a bigger whole. I may have done the work but the piece of evidence I’ve created does not belong to me. If someone else can improve it, it doesn’t then belong to them either. It belongs to everyone.
I think focusing more on the fact that we’re each just doing our best to create evidence to improve science/health and less that a paper is ours, might give some people a healthier attitude to criticism (e.g. during peer review). Criticism might be less likely to be taken personally and more likely to be seen as an opportunity to improve this piece of evidence that we’re working on together. Peer review could even come to be seen in positive light (I know some already do) as a chance to improve a study or manuscript.
