Brilliant article (and essay). And not just about research. A huge part of our political tragedy is that politicians *act* incredibly stupid in their attempts to avoid *looking* stupid...
Thanks for sharing! On Sep 10, 2014, at 11:01 AM, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Newton Blog > > Science: It's Okay to Feel Stupid > > Posted by Ross Pomeroy September 9, 2014 > > In 2008, University of Virginia microbiologist Martin Schwartz recalled a > meeting with an old friend, one who had been a Ph.D student with him and had > left to attend Harvard Law School instead. At one point during their meeting, > he asked why she dropped out. > > "She said it was because it made her feel stupid. After a couple of years of > feeling stupid every day, she was ready to do something else." > > Schwartz was astonished at the answer. > > "I had thought of her as one of the brightest people I knew and her > subsequent career supports that view," he wrote. > > Schwartz pondered on what his good friend had told him. > > "What she said bothered me. I kept thinking about it; sometime the next day, > it hit me. Science makes me feel stupid too. It's just that I've gotten used > to it. So used to it, in fact, that I actively seek out new opportunities to > feel stupid. I wouldn't know what to do without that feeling. I even think > it's supposed to be this way." > > Science humbles even the most brilliant people, bringing them to their > intellectual knees. Such is the nature of an enterprise that delves into the > unknown. > > Schwartz' meeting with his friend inspired an essay: "The importance of > stupidity in scientific research," published in 2008 to the journal Cell > Science. In it, he argued why it's not only okay to feel stupid, but why it's > a necessity. > > He began his explanation with a simple and true statement. > > "For almost all of us, one of the reasons that we liked science in high > school and college is that we were good at it." > > But unfortunately, that leaves aspiring scientists with a specious > impression. Because, as most established scientists know, science is not > about taking tests or getting correct answers! Even the laboratory work most > students perform in high school and college is structured to reach a > predetermined end. In research, the conclusion is never known at the outset. > Researchers may have a strong inkling what might happen, but they don't know > for certain. > > When aspiring scientists reach graduate school and doctoral programs, being > correct is no longer the goal. The goal is solving problems. It's not the > same. > > "A Ph.D., in which you have to do a research project, is a whole different > thing," Schwartz wrote. "For me, it was a daunting task. How could I possibly > frame the questions that would lead to significant discoveries; design and > interpret an experiment so that the conclusions were absolutely convincing; > foresee difficulties and see ways around them, or, failing that, solve them > when they occurred?" > > Schwartz' personal breakthrough came when he realized that nobody, not even > the advisors he looked up to, had the answers to his problem. > > "The crucial lesson was that the scope of things I didn't know wasn't merely > vast; it was, for all practical purposes, infinite. That realization, instead > of being discouraging, was liberating. If our ignorance is infinite, the only > possible course of action is to muddle through as best we can." > > Muddling earned Schwartz his Ph.D, as it has for countless other students. In > fact, muddling is simply what researchers do. Science is like wading through > a swamp only to reach a vast unexplored ocean. > > "Science involves confronting our `absolute stupidity'. That kind of > stupidity is an existential fact, inherent in our efforts to push our way > into the unknown," Schwartz wrote. > > He believes scientists should embrace that stupidity. > > "One of the beautiful things about science is that it allows us to bumble > along, getting it wrong time after time, and feel perfectly fine as long as > we learn something each time. No doubt, this can be difficult for students > who are accustomed to getting the answers right. No doubt, reasonable levels > of confidence and emotional resilience help, but I think scientific education > might do more to ease what is a very big transition: from learning what other > people once discovered to making your own discoveries. The more comfortable > we become with being stupid, the deeper we will wade into the unknown and the > more likely we are to make big discoveries." > > In the six years since it was published, Schwartz' essay has become a source > of solace for despairing doctoral students, a reminder that feeling lost is a > sign you're on the right course. > > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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