There is no magic, there is only awesome
That is the title of a three part series (well three thus far. There will be more) by Jamis Buck. The articles are about programming and development, but the tenets apply equally well to the sciences.
In Part 1, Jamis sets forth his argument convincingly. As he writes, “It’s not magic that separates the exceptional from the mundane: it’s awesomeness.”
“Awesomeness” in this context is excellence, an excellence borne out of a willingness to dig into one’s domain. As scientists, we are used to doing so, sometimes to an extreme. To some extent it is part of our psyche, but it’s a lesson that we need to make sure young scientists learn well. Jamis proposes four rules as well
- Know your tools
- Know your languages
- Know your libraries
- Know your communities
What does this translate to for scientists?
We have to know our tools, and our tools evolve rapidly too in many cases, whether they be computational or your favorite expression system. Similarly, we all need to know the basic languages of our craft, the protocols that are captured in methods sections, OpenWetWare and JoVE. We have to know our libraries, the body of work, the literature which capture prior art and knowledge which allows us to build up what we know about the world around us and we have to know our communities, whether they be the mailing lists that Hari likes or the Friendfeed rooms we all love.
Obvious? Perhaps, but also part of what makes us awesome scientists.
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2 Comments
This is obvious, as noted. Unfortunately, a lot of “awesomeness” gets pushed aside for marketing these days. Our consumer society is teaching us that packaging and customer service are more important. I'm glad to hear the “real thing” brought to the fore again. The “awesomeness” of truth or craft understood thoroughly and communicated well still floats my boat a lot higher. Thank you!
This is obvious, as noted. Unfortunately, a lot of “awesomeness” gets pushed aside for marketing these days. Our consumer society is teaching us that packaging and customer service are more important. I'm glad to hear the “real thing” brought to the fore again. The “awesomeness” of truth or craft understood thoroughly and communicated well still floats my boat a lot higher. Thank you!