Question: what made you decide to become a scientist?
Asked by nov0003 to Bridget, Mat, Kieran, Aimee, Mags on 18 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by ashley, hayden, aliceinthepalace911, sea51, jrmoncrieff, hufflepuffsareparticualarlygoodfinders, siennarox123.
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I like solving puzzles – soduko, Scrabble, (easier) crosswords, jigsaws, playing 500 and bridge. There is a satisfaction in seeing how things fit together, or figuring out the answer to something. When I was a boy, I used to make models, from model kits. There is also a joy in making something out a chaotic pile of bits and pieces. So I also like plying with Lego and other construction toys. Now as a Scout Leader, I get to play with ropes and logs to make bridges and other neat stuff.
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All science is is a way of looking at the world. It’s this: you believe your senses, and that the universe is logical. Though this doesn’t sound amazing, it actually is. It means that you can *predict the future*. If I go outside, turn on my car headlights and go to bed, in the morning my car battery will be flat. I know it will be flat. No question. If I put my hand on an oven top, I’ll injure myself. If I try to fly by flapping my arms, it’ll be embarrassing.
Generally everyone thinks like this, not just scientists. Sometimes people don’t, and that can be for all sorts of reasons. Lots of people are superstitious. So people believe things about one magpie being good luck, and two not. Or that you have to nod and turn around if someone mentions the devil, or throw salt over your shoulder – that kind of thing. That’s all nonsense. So being a scientist just means you see the whole world as a logical thing, and you know that things will happen. If things don’t work out the way you planned, there’s a reason, and you will always be able to understand the reason.
There are two other things, though.
1) Though I know that I’ll hurt my hand if I put it into a flame, what I want to know is WHY. What is it about the flame that will hurt my hand? So you have to study things a bit more – using the same basic approach of asking obvious questions. What is the flame? What’s my hand made of? Why is hand+flame bad? What happens to the hand after the fire? *Really* obvious questions. So the added thing about being a scientist is that you gain a deeper level of understanding. But scientists use the same approach that we all do in everyday life. Ask a question, think about an experiment, and believe what you see, not what people tell you. Never assume anything. Maybe scientists are a bit stricter about some of these things than other people. Scientists maybe are a bit better about not assuming things than other people because we have so many bad experiences when we assume things that aren’t right.
2) That deeper level of understanding is very satisfying. In fact I’d use the word “beautiful”. When you look into something in a lot of detail, and you understand how it works, you can get the same thrill that you do when you see a beautiful landscape, or listen to a great piece of music. Some people who like cars will call certain engines beautiful. For me, understanding how molecules interact, or how we make molecules a certain way, or seeing molecules make more of themselves – these things are beautiful.
What made me want to be a scientist – my Dad made important bits of spaceships. He made the hinge between the solar panels and the rest of the Hubble Space Telescope. That was awesome. Then later when I was about 15 I saw a really basic computer animation of DNA – starting a long way off so a chromosome looked like and ‘X’ and zooming in till you could see the structure of the molecule – the double helix will all the individual atoms. I was rooted to the spot right there.
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I wanted to be a scientist because I love understanding how things in our body and mind work; like, why do we behave the way we do? how do some things make us sick and others make us better? what’s actually going on inside our cells that makes us who/what we are?
In Year 12 I wanted to a Doctor until I realised that I was interested in the science behind the illness more so than treating it. Studying science meant that I got to learn about these things and so many others and I found it really interesting. That said, physics is difficult for me and I struggle with things that involve maths, but you don’t need to like all types of science, you can pick the areas you do like to study and work in.
I thought that when I became a scientist I would do something amazing for the world and win a Nobel prize. I don’t think that’s going to happen! but hopefully what I do will contribute to human health.
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When I left school, I had a good enough mark to do anything I wanted really. I was tossing up between being a vet and doing biology at uni because I’ve always liked animals and learning about them. My sisters and I had so many different pets and I was always catching lizards and insects in my backyard when I was young.
So I decided to do some volunteer work at a vet clinic near my house to see if I could handle it. When I got home from my first shift, I couldn’t get the smell of dog poo out of my nose, even after a shower! I also wasn’t keen on the idea of having to euthanise animals (put them down) when they got sick, which is a big part of a vet’s job.
I was more interested in studying healthy animals and lots of different animals, not just dogs and cats, so I chose to study zoology instead of being a vet.
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From very early on in my life I asked questions starting with “Why…?” a lot. It drove my parents AND teachers crazy. My parents would tell me that I would learn it from school. And my teachers when frustrated would tell me I was asking university level questions.
It’s because of that I became a scientist because in science it’s a lot about asking “Why…?” after observing something interesting or something that doesn’t quite make sense. The chemistry degree was only because I found chemistry to be the most fun out of all the science subjects on offer. If I had found microbiology as much fun I would have chosen that degree. I didn’t put much thought into it.
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