Photo of Ardem Patapoutian taken from caltech.edu
Jan 21, 2024, 14:07
Ardem Patapoutian: My rules on how to do Science
Ardem Patapoutian, molecular biologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel Prize laureate, shared on X:
“I wrote down my rules on how to do science. I hope you find it useful!
Here are my top 13 rules on how to do science (why should it be only 10?):
- Don’t be too busy (Rule #1: No excuses. If you’re too busy, you’re not being creative).
- Learn to say no (related to #1).
- What question to ask: Find the biggest unanswered question that can be approached in the next 5-10 years.
- Science communication: When you talk about your work, always start by stating what the important open question is (this is fundamental, but very few do it; related to #3).
- Prioritize: Know when to quit a project (as important as coming up with new ideas).
- Change fields when the open questions are no longer interesting: Being from a different field allows you to look at problems with a fresh perspective.
- Ask for help – don’t reinvent the wheel.
- Don’t listen to advice if it doesn’t make sense to you (this does not contradict #7).
- Hire people who are smart, efficient, and kind (don’t forget about “kind”).
- Champion the underprivileged.
- Collaborate with people with very different training and experience.
- Cultivate friends who tell you when you are wrong.
- Don’t forget why you got into this business in the first place: Science is fun. Minimize the noise that causes anxiety.
Source: Ardem Patapoutian / X