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Stupidity in science


CharonY

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  • 4 weeks later...

I like that.

 

Though I take issue with the word "stupid"... and I take issue with it because I'm a terrible pedant. So I'll not go into specifics. :)

 

I can understand the choice, though. The author is addressing the emotional response to the exploration of that which you do not know to the point of not even knowing what questions to ask. Daunting it certainly is. Rewarding too.

 

Great essay. :)

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Actually I think stupid in this regard is a good choice as it reflects the transition from student to scientist. As a student there are (apparently) answers to all questions. Or at least you job is more or less to memorize them. However this stops when you start doing science. You think it is daunting and a challenge if you already stopped being in the frame of mind of a student. But if you still are, you will assume (and I can tell you, a lot of students do) that there has to be an (easy) solution. But not getting the answers, which they assume that they should be around, makes them feel... well, stupid.

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When you're still in highschool, a common way of thinking about a new idea is:

 

"Nobody seems to use this idea, so it probably will not work".

 

Then, after you finish university, you realize that the correct version is:

 

"Nobody seems to use this idea, so probably nobody thought of it yet"... Which is something that you should always test twice, because often somebody DID think of it, and it probably will not work after all. :D

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi CharonY,

 

Well,I recently saw an old friend for the first time in many years. We had been Ph.D. students at the same time, both studying science, although in different areas. She later dropped out of graduate school, went to Harvard Law School and is now a senior lawyer for a major environmental organization. At some point, the conversation turned to why she had left graduate school. To my utter astonishment, 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.I had thought of her as one of the brightest people I knew and her subsequent career supports that view. 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.

 

Thanks

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