Think Like Scientist

Restructure how you see things

Choosing life over hobby gave me the name Jayath (herbalist) at a young age. With continuous stay with the elderly, and reading and applying, I learned a lot with the help of questions, developed an interest in science, and applied some basics to bring food to the table. “You know more by seeking to know more, asking questions, and trying to find answers. That’s science. Living is searching. It is the question, rather than the answer that helps us to find our way through the “woven web of guesses”, the vet told me some days when she visited the school. Later I found the reference in the writing by Popper (1998):

The gods did not reveal, from the beginning,

All things to us; but in the course of time,

Through seeking we may learn, and know things better.

But as for certain truth, no man has known it,

Nor will he know it; neither of the gods

Nor yet of all the things of which I speak.

And if by chance he were to utter

The perfect truth, he would himself not know it;

For all is but a woven web of guesses.

Not is arriving the bliss, but by searching. To make mistakes and correct them without much ado. That is science. Science can be tough, especially in the current times when scientists are facing a lot of frustrations due to a lack of jobs. Such challenges can only be addressed and solved when Africa decides to embrace scientific research, focus on self-growth, break from over-dependence from the Western countries, invest in academics and research, and restructure the institutions to train entrepreneurs and not employees.

As young minds in science, with all the frustrations, we must ask ourselves questions: Is it worth it to keep going? What type of mentors does one need? Should we think just as employees? Can’t we commercialize knowledge? Do we really need to know the specific scope of our profession? Who is a scientist? Is it passion, interest, or by chance? How can we make our field relevant? Questions help in transforming information into knowledge and are the raw material for scientific explanation. Without questions, no science. Without science, no life. Curiosity and thirst for knowledge drive passion for science.

Jacques Monod states that it is restlessness, anxiety, dissatisfaction, and agony of mind that nourish science (Serres, 1976). Think like a scientist even in frustration.

Macodongo

References

Serres M (1976) Celui qui changeait la vie. Monod, ses réponses au “Nouvel Observateur”. In Le Nouvel Observateur

Popper K, Petersen AF, Mejer J (1998). The world of Parmenides. Essays on the presocratic enlightenment. Taylor and Francis, London