RCS Posts: A glimpse of the job of a scientist not including the doing of science.
We
tend to think of a scientist as one of our more creative individuals.
We seldom think of a scientist as anything like a wage slave. However,
the fact is he usually has to work for someone. She often has a boss. She
may be fired.
The institution the scientist works for can be a problem for him or her.
For example:
~
The institution can have values that do not coincide with those of the
scientist. A scientist may dislike certain tools or methods of an
employer.
He
may not like certain ways in which his employer communicates. The
culture of the employer help do her work, but may also tend to limit his
thinking and productivity.
~
In addition to her salary a scientist may receive funding those whose
main interests are very different from hers. Her interest may well be
her branch of science and perhaps in interesting new paradigms. There
main interest at a given time might be profit and control of ideas.
Money can help, but it may also work to limit thinking and creativity.
~
Really big ideas may be fenced in, or out, by really big institutions.
The scientist may learn to stay safely on the rails of an old science
and to void the danger of trying to understand new ideas or taking on
promising new work.
It is not always easy to keep a mind free. One may even begin to lose heart.
May your heart be strong.
You can check out online a researcher and author by the name of Khun for a greater understanding of our topic here.
by Richard Sheehan