An open archive for research ideas

What if there was a made-official-by-community archive of open problems in condensed matter physics? Or in any field. Open to anybody to read or add, sorted by keywords even. How would it change the research landscape, both in terms of progress and in what careers would look like?

Coming-up-with-cool-ideas is arguably one of the most, if not the most, important skills in fundamental research. It is highly valued currently and is a large part of the job of a PI. Coming-up-with-cool-ideas can win you a Nobel prize. It is where credit is directed, and prize money pools.

Now imagine a world where such an archive is widely used. Every time any physicist has a new idea they post it on there. It can only speed up the time it takes for somebody to make progress on that idea, and might prevent dusty pearls from collecting in the garbage heaps of peoples minds.

Or what if every researcher was very publicly advertising what they are currently working on? Every idea has been made available upon seeding, so why not let people know if you’re working on it actively? Surely a culture of almost mandatory trasparency can only help to foster fruitful collaboration.

It would very likely become the cesspit of crackpots without some mode of verification. That could no doubt be implemented though in a minimally invasive way.

I do think it’s unlikely to ever work though, for the simple reason that most individuals with high idea output won’t benefit personally.