Have you ever wondered why you do science? What it might appear as a silly question that only graduate students ask themselves to really be sure they have chosen the right path, in reality it is more than a legitimate point scientists mulled over multiple times during their career.
This question accompanies you through your first day in the lab, when you wonder whether you will be able to accomplish any project on your own. This question screams loud in your head when you stand, in your first seminar ever, in front of a big audience. Well, let’s be honest, perhaps it was not even so big, but you, scientist, felt it as the largest army was preparing to test your abilities. And when you failed answering that tricky question, or when your experiments failed and for three months or more you were stuck on a technical issue. Even then this interrogative sentence came hunting for you.
What did you reply then? Weakened and fatigued by millions of frustrating moments, you still feel the flame that keeps you excited about science. You see it, as a dim light at the end of the tunnel and you know it is there and you will reach it once again.
Scientist friends have described it to me as a roller coaster of emotion. The reason that keeps us excited about science. You live one day of glory, of fun and joy and this pushes you though the daily struggle of reaching the answer of your scientific questions. Yet, when overall the prize is worth it the journey.
In a recent article published on Cell (“Keep your eyes on the prize”, Ron Vale, Cell, April 2019), Dr Ron Vale talks about 5 reasons scientists love science:
1. -the excitement of unraveling a new discovery
2. -the gratification of overcoming experimental or technical issues
3. -the mind-opening experience of international and intercultural environments
4. -the joyful feeling of helping others to climb the science ladder up with you
5. -the intellectual enrichment of keeping learning from other people’s discoveries
I happened to meet Dr Ron Vale through an exchange program that allowed me to join his lab, in the summer 2010. Dr Vale turned out to be one of the most inspiring mentors I had so far. Despite of his busy schedule as lab director and teacher, I remember how he still found the time to discussed one-to-one about your science. It is quite reassuring that, in spite of his success, he always questioned himself what keeps him passionate about science, as we all do. Yet, he kept chasing his dreams through all the doubts and the uncertainties. A true inspiration and model of how hard work and sacrifices will be rewarded. As he –in my opinion correctly- points out, it will maybe not be a labeled prize, but a priceless satisfaction will come to you from the excitement of each discovery, the acknowledgment by our peer scientists and the friendship of great people we meet along the way will make you the most successful of all.
So, what does keep you passionate about science?
Link to original article by Dr Vale: