Advice for the young Filipino scientist
There is a classic book by Santiago Ramon y Cajal, “Advice for a Young Investigator,” that was published in 1897. In it, Cajal, the acknowledged father of modern anatomy and neurobiology, outlines the traits of young scientists, as well as the conditions conducive to doing scientific research. Given that it was written in the 19th century, some of the advice is downright funny (“the right temperament for the scientist”) to downright politically incorrect (“what kind of woman to marry to succeed”). Most of the book is sound advice, though, and should be considered required reading for budding (and old) scientists. Below, in an unranked fashion, is a list of unsolicited advice for the young Filipino scientist. While I feel too young to be dispensing such advice, one of the items is to “pay no heed to age or rank.” So here it is, with due credit to Cajal for the inspiration.
Try to work at the interface. The boundary between disciplines is where new discoveries lie. When a scientist trained in one field starts fiddling with problems in another area, the fresh perspective usually brings new approaches and insights. The engineer’s quantitative training, for example, greatly increases the chances of making inroads into problems that have perplexed biologists. The mathematician looks at environmental problems in a different way, the chemist has fresh eyes to offer medicine, the computational researcher has insights into visual problems, etc. The ability to work at the interface requires mastery of one area, and a willingness to learn, in another area. But a young researcher can expedite the learning process by collaborating with other scientists; all it requires is a thick skin and the gumption to look foolish. This brings us to…
Don’t be afraid to ask the basic questions. The “stupid” question, asked in all innocence by the non-expert, has two purposes. First, if the expert cannot answer it to the satisfaction of the non-expert, then maybe the understanding is incomplete. When I am looking for a way to explain some phenomena to my classes, I use my kids as litmus tests. If I can’t explain it to my eight year-old son, then I can’t explain it well, or I truly do not understand it. Second, sometimes the “stupid” question is the building block of deep analysis. Remember the apple falling on the ground, and this old guy looking at the moon, asking, “What made the apple fall down? What keeps the moon circling the earth?” These are all basic questions, but they led to the monumental laws of gravitation. Sometimes, I ask Ph.D. candidates during their oral exams really simple questions, and watch them squirm and sweat as they try to answer. Do not worry that everything in science has been answered — nature still has lots to offer, we just have to keep asking the right questions.
Hang around smart people. Talk to other scientists, be curious about their work, get them excited about your project. Smartness sometimes diffuses — remember the 10-foot rule (the people 10 feet around you are the most influential in your day-to-day work). Don’t be afraid of smart conversation; listen, think aloud, challenge, ask. As long as you stick to the fundamentals, you can understand most physical, chemical, and biological phenomena. Do not bother with people with lazy thinking or who are intellectually dishonest or who do not care. Find yourself some smart sounding boards. They may be eccentric, but they’re always fun. Scientific insight is bred when the mind is playful enough to consider possibilities. Play.
Read the literature. There is no excuse nowadays for not reading publications in your area. The Internet has made many journals open-access. Note that I mean the peer-reviewed, archival journals, not the wiki-based knowledge out there. Remember that a few hours searching the literature will save you months in the laboratory. Ideas also come from papers, and it pays to know who’s doing what in your field. Do not succumb to “me-too” science. Strive for originality, and not just repetition of what others have done. And feel free to question everything you read — you can still critique the published paper. Pay no heed to age or rank or stature. The scientific giants also put their pants on — one leg at a time. You are entitled to be impertinent — you are a young scientist!
Begin with the end in mind. Sometimes, it is useful to visualize the data (as graphs, tables, etc.) even before the data are there. Just imagining how the data can be presented improves experimental design and approaches. How can the data be convincing? Answering that question leads to a more robust experimental design, a better statistics-based framework, better experimental and quality controls, etc. Sometimes, thinking of the end has led me to scrap whole experiments, after realizing we cannot afford the number of measurements necessary to provide convincing data or that the variability in measurements is greater than the effect of the treatment itself.
Writing breeds exactness; write! One trait of the successful scientist is the ability to convey discoveries to the outside world. Try to write for publication. Part of the scientific process is publishing your work, so aim to publish with every project. I have also heard the microbiologist Ralph Wolfe say, “Data does not become better with age,” which means try to publish your results as soon as you can (but not sooner). Also remember that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof” (Carl Sagan), so do not rush, but do not dilly-dally.
There are a few more we can add, and I am sure others can easily add to this list. They surely are welcome. We need young Filipino scientists to succeed, if we are to improve the state of science and technology in our country, and I hope some of them are encouraged by this list.
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Francis L. de los Reyes III is an associate professor of Environmental Engineering at
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