I
recently read E. O. Wilson’s new book, Letters
to a Young Scientist. Those of us who value everything that Wilson writes
have read this book with eagerness. However, if I were a young scientist just
getting started, or a student considering whether to become a scientist, this
book would not give me clear guidance or inspiration. One of the best parts was
the part quoted on the back cover: his advice to new scientists, “The world
needs you—badly.”
But
I did very much appreciate the three “archetypes” that Wilson presented: the
stories or images by which scientific research resembles those that inspire
people in all walks of life. Science is an adventure, and Wilson gives us three
specific ways in which this is the case.
His
first is “the journey to an unexplored land.” The same feeling that makes
adventurers climb mountains, explore rivers, search for uncontacted tribes,
even to look for Shangri-La also makes scientists look for new species, study
the sea floor, search for life on other planets, and look for the fossil
remains of our pre-human ancestors. I must testify that Wilson’s first
archetype is true, for me, every day of my life.
His
second is the “search for the Grail.” The same feeling that made people in
earlier centuries look for the Holy Grail, the philosopher’s stone, or the
fountain of youth also makes scientists look for the origin of life, try to
create artificial life, try to create controlled hydrogen fusion, or try to
explain dark matter and energy. This is the search for unity of explanation, as
opposed to diversity of discoveries.
His
third is “good against evil.” Heroes, champions, and martyrs of the past are
reflected in the scientific world of the war against cancer, the conquest of
hunger, the campaign against global warming, and the development of better
forms of forensic DNA sequencing.
As
I have frequently written, science is not just something that scientists do,
but is a compelling adventure. And there are a few pages in the middle of
Wilson’s small book that resonate strongly with this understanding.
No comments:
Post a Comment