Expanding your Bubble

Breaking out of the comfort zone! Burst the bubble! Push the envelope! Expand your horizons... 

All of these great clichés exist because we each have a forte. That is great, and necessary, but don't be caught in your own bubble. Expanding your frame of reference is invaluable to your success as a researcher. Don't limit yourself in such a way that you stop learning.

I continually search for new ways to expand and improve my research. When I was finalising my Master's degree I had the idea of incorporating a little bit of network theory with my more traditional molecular biology work. Now I did not know anything about how to apply network theory (I still know very little) and had to go through a steep learning curve.

This started with learning the basics of programming, which I knew almost nothing of. I searched online for some tutorials/help and discovered the amazing world of MOOCs (Massive Online Open Course). Through one such a platform (Coursera) I did two courses that gave me a basic understanding of programming. From there I just tinkered with my data and continuously asked new questions. I tried various online tools, forums, tutorials and of course published scientific material. After about three months, and many late evenings, I finished what turned out to be the most expansive and rewarding chapter in my thesis. I discovered so many new avenues for my research which ended up being the foundation for my PhD project.

I could have saved myself a lot of effort and time by just doing what is expected... just another thesis. I would have passed and my supervisor would be happy but I would never have learned a new skill. Pushing the envelope allowed me to expand my skill set and identify new opportunities. I encourage you to do the same. 

Don't be afraid to learn!

Molecular Techniques Intro

Yoda Moment: Being Stupid

I am a bit of a nerd and really love my Star Wars quotes. The famous Yoda saying "...fear leads to anger…anger leads to hate…hate leads to suffering" is very applicable to being a postgraduate student, but in our case it does not lead to the Dark Side. In most cases we fear not being able to succeed. 

Now success is a difficult thing when you are doing science because you have to change your view about it a little. Most of the time it is one step forward and two steps back. The scale is always in favour of failure but this is the beauty of science. We learn just as much, if not more,  from our failures. Every aspects of your research is an opportunity to learn something, whether or not you learn what you intended is up to you. 

Martin A. Schwartz wrote an essay titled: The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research. In the essay he highlights how important it is to realise that stupidity is a good thing in science. Stupidity means that you don't know what is going on, this is the realm in which scientific discovery takes place. Don't be afraid to say I don't know or understand what is going on, this is an opportunity to learn. If you fear being stupid it will lead to anger and frustration that causes undue suffering (see what I did there?). Approach your research as a journey and be mindful of where your knowledge and understanding is lacking, this often leads to new avenues for research.