With their large transport boxes in neon colors on their backs, the bicycle couriers from Lieferando, Wolt and their ilk are increasingly dominating the streets.

They bring to the public what lies dormant in private.

Germany is becoming a delivery culture, and has been since the first corona lockdown at the latest.

Since then, people in Germany have been ordering more and more, and currently one in three regularly uses a delivery service.

The sofa is soft, it's raining outside and – oh dear!

– the stomach growls.

With just a swipe of your finger on your smartphone, the delivery service becomes the savior from the adversities of the world.

But with the aluminum shell on your lap, you quickly forget that life isn't always that easy.

And so people everywhere are demanding what the pizza delivery services are doing.

Where there is a problem, people now expect solutions.

As cheap as possible.

As soon as possible.

Served as comfortably as possible.

Delivering becomes the paradigm of the present.

Where the company only revolves around itself, it loses its relevance

This thinking is also spreading in relation to science.

Whether Corona, climate change or the Ukraine war, science should now be ready and provide answers when things get dicey.

A vaccine here, a technological solution there and gladly an explanation of how it came to this.

Without question, it is the task of science to answer the questions of its time and not to ignore the needs of society.

Where the company only revolves around itself, it loses its relevance.

But the delivery paradigm narrows the discourse to the most dangerous.

First, because it ignores the way science works, which strives where it can, but deals with less standardized goods than a pizza.

Research takes a long time and does not always come to the desired result.

Wanting to order an exact product from her is absurd.

Just because everyone wants the world formula doesn't mean it has been found.

Second, the delivery paradigm misjudges the nature of science, which is productive precisely in its aimlessness.

Not every research result revolutionizes the world, and it is not always clear what something is useful for.

But taken together, all research efforts help keep the slow cart of knowledge rolling forward.

Where science is primarily intended to serve day-to-day social events, it loses its quality.

Basic research would hardly be possible, which in all consequence means a rejection of science.

In the end it's like Lieferando: Germans prefer to order cheeseburgers.

But is this really a good dish?

Lukewarm and in a box?

If you went to the restaurant around the corner instead and just let the chef do it, there would be a meal on the table that really spoils the palate.

Only those who are free and do not have to deliver piecework can create values ​​that will still be valid tomorrow.