CONSEJOS A UN JOVEN CIENTFICO

Pedro Miguel Etxenike

wapetlap@sq.ehu.es

Barcelona

20 de febrero de 2006

DONOSTIA INTERNATIONAL

PHYSICS CENTER

Pedro, where did you learn English?

In Oxford, Sir

Did you ask for your money back?

No Sir, success was not guaranteed

It is better to learn from the bad experience of others than from your

own

Peter Feibelman

I. THERE IS NOT THE SCIENTIST THERE ARE

SCIENTISTS

James Watson Francis Crick

Three motives to prosecuteresearch.

The first is intellectual curiosity.

Then, professional pride.

Finally, ambition, desire forreputation, and the position, even thepower or the money.

A Mathematicians Apology. G.H. Hardy

II. CREATIVITY

Creativity is the faculty of mind or spirit that empowers us to bring into existence,

ostensibly out of nothing, something of beauty, order or significance.

Peter Medawar

What chiefly characterizes creative thinking from more mundane forms are

(i) willingness to accept vaguely defined problem statements and gradually

structure them, (ii) continuing preoccupation with problems over a considerable period of time, and

(iii) extensive background knowledge in relevant and potentially relevant areas

Herbert Simon

PREPARATION

INCUBATION

ILLUMINATION

VERIFICATION

J.E. Littlewood

Knowledge, obsession, daring

It is the supreme art of theteacher to awaken joy in creative expression and

knowledge.

A. Einstein

Imagination is more importantthan knowledge.Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles theworld.

A. Einstein

Deep generative ideas are a product of curiosity

Creativity is not just having ideas; it is ideas, convictions, decisions and

actions.

Toda obra grande en arte como en ciencia es el resultado de una gran

pasin puesta al servicio de una gran idea.

Ramn y Cajal

Good scientific policy, Universities and PublicCenters at the Frontiers of knowledge.

Ensure that:- Scientifically creative thinking is actively developedin the young.

- Sustained rather than undermined at all stages ofa career.

- Supported rather than opposed at maturity.

There are several reasons for wanting to leave academia, notthe least being the desire for a work environment which rewards those who take appropriate risks The problems I have been attracted to are motivated by real world data where there is no existing theoretical model. Involvement in such projects requires a desire for new challenges, an appetite for risk, and the ability to be innovative yet humble in the face of data.

Letter sent by one of P. W. Andersons students to a well-known management consulting firm

The best way to prevent the end of science is to provide opportunity in abundance for the most creative and original of our young people. This is not happening. But it needs to.

Philipp W. Anderson

III.CHOOSE A GOOD PLACE

IV. LEARN TO SWIM BY SWIMMING

Science is to be able to say something without knowing

everything.

H. Bondi

Scientists do not discover in orderto know, they know in order to

discover.

Consilience Edward O. Wilson

V. SELECT A GOOD PROJECT

INTELLIGENCE

I like to define as optimum intelligence for a normal

science: bright enough to see what needs to be done but not so bright as to suffer boredom

doing it

VI. HISTORY OF SCIENCE

Learn something about the historyof science.

The best antidote to the philosophyof science is a knowledge of thehistory of science.

History of science can make yourwork seem more worthwhile to you.

VII. AMBITION

Bismarck: Politics is the art of the possible.

Medawar: Science is the art of the solvable.

A mans first duty, a young mans at any rate, is to be ambitious but the noblest ambition is that of leaving behind one something of permanent value.

A Mathematicians Apology. G.H. Hardy

Dont bite off more than you can chew.

VIII. ESTABLISHING A NAME FOR YOURSELF

IX. TIMING

X. PUBLISH BUT NOT FASTER THAN YOU THINK

Publish or Perish

Good science opens newdoors

Dear Sir,

We (Mr. Rosen and I) had sent you our manuscript for publicationand had not authorized you to show it to specialists befor it isprinted. I see no reason to address the-in any case erroneous-comments of your anonymous expert. On the basis of this incidentI prefer to publish the paper elsewhere.

Respectfully,

P.S. Mr. Rosen, who has left for the Soviet Union, has authorizedme to represent him in this matter.

Einstein, who reacted angrily to the referee report, would have been well advised to pay more attention toits criticisms, which proved to be valid.

XI. COMMUNICATION SKILLS. LEARN TO

COMMUNICATE

1. Your seminar is a performance. It needs to be carefully planned and thoroughly rehearsed.

P. Feibelman. A Ph.D. is not enough

2. Present yourself confidently. Act as though you have enjoyed doing your research and that your results are exciting to you.3. Respect your audience. They are spending an hour to hear you. They want to understand what you have to say, even if your specialty is not theirs. They do not want to be "snowed", nor do they want to be treated as " experts" in a field where they really are not.

4. Do not waste your time with filler. Make sure each slide pushes your story forward. If your talk is a bit too short, no one will object.

5. Make your visual aids pleasing to the eye without too much of a Madison Avenue look.

XII. BELIEVE IN YOUR IDEAS BUT NOT

INFINITELY

I cannot give any scientist of any age better advice than this. The intensity of the conviction that a hypothesis is true has no bearing on whether it is true or not. (Peter Medawar)

Innovative, yet humble in the face of data. (PWA)

El que deja fuera todos los errores dejar fuera la verdad.

(R. Tagore)

XIII. CULTIVATE SMART FRIENDS

XIV. ETHICS

XV. DONT BE ENVIOUS

XVI. HOLTONS INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES

HOLTONS INTEGRITY PRINCIPLES

Studying Bohrs work and life. I see four principles of integrity in science.

The first: Try to get it right to all costs, sparing no effort.

The second: Try to be a scientist first, a specialist second.

The third: Science is, and should be a part of the total world viewof our time. This is a vision you should imaginatively explore, defend and contribute to.

.The laboratory remains our workplace, but it must not become our hiding place.

The fourth: The special obligation scientists have to exercise soundcitizenship that obligation is special and the very opposite of elitistarrogance.

We stand not only on the shoulders of a few but also at the graves of thousands.

GERALD HOLTONCandor and Integrity in Science. Syntheses

XVI. SUCCESS FORMULA

COURSE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Knowledge=Power Time=Money

THERMODYNAMICS Power=Work/Time

AFTER SOME COMPLEX ALGEBRA Money=Work/Knowledge

XVII. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A PhD?

People who have learned the process of critical thinking.

People who know that important things, even if small, require a big and long-term effort.

People who recognize their errors and rectify them.

People who communicate and know how to do it.

People who know how to formulate ideas

People who know how to discuss and defend their ownideas.

People who know how to extract the essential fromcomplex problems.

The market value is likely to be, your problem solvingskills and flexibility and less likely to be in a particular

process or technique.

XVIII. THE FUTURE

THE FUTURE

Flexible persons, capable of criticalthinking with intelectual courage andstrategic vision of the future.

CONSEJOS A UN JOVEN CIENTFICOPedro, where did you learn English?It is better to learn from the bad experience of others than from your ownI. THERE IS NOT THE SCIENTIST THERE ARE SCIENTISTSII. CREATIVITYIII.CHOOSE A GOOD PLACEIV. LEARN TO SWIM BY SWIMMINGV. SELECT A GOOD PROJECTINTELLIGENCEVI. HISTORY OF SCIENCEVII. AMBITIONVIII. ESTABLISHING A NAME FOR YOURSELFIX. TIMINGX. PUBLISH BUT NOT FASTER THAN YOU THINKXI. COMMUNICATION SKILLS. LEARN TO COMMUNICATEXII. BELIEVE IN YOUR IDEAS BUT NOT INFINITELYEl que deja fuera todos los errores dejar fuera la verdad. (R. Tagore)XIII. CULTIVATE SMART FRIENDSXIV. ETHICSXV. DONT BE ENVIOUSXVI. HOLTONS INTEGRITY PRINCIPLESXVI. SUCCESS FORMULAXVII. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A PhD?XVIII. THE FUTURE