The Cosmological Constant \Lambda , in different incarnations , has been with us for 100 years .
Many surveys of dark energy are underway , indicating so far that the data are consistent with a dark energy equation of state of w = -1 , i.e .
a \Lambda term in Einstein ’ s equation , although time variation of w is not yet ruled out .
The ball is now back in the theoreticians ’ court , to explain the physical meaning of \Lambda .
We discuss sociological aspects of this field , in particular to what extent the agreement on the cold dark matter + \Lambda concordance model is a result of the globalization of research and over-communication .