What’s the motivation?
Sunday, October 16th, 2005I started thinking about what it is that makes someone stay in research. Is it the overwhelming successes you have? Is it the sense of accomplishment one feels when they get a clone that isn’t useful? What is it that makes scientists go to work day in and day out to fail? What other job is mostly failures? I’m not sure why any of us keep doing it.
I do know why I started in research. The illusions of grandeur; finding a treatment or a cure, knowing you helped someone, or a major scientific discovery. Now I’ve been in science awhile (not nearly as long as hbogerd) and most would say that I’ve been fairly successful(again not as successful as hbogerd). I haven’t cured anything and probably won’t but I do have my own projects and a fair number of decent publications.
I guess lately I’m questioning why I’m doing this. So, my question to you is: what is your motivation to keep plugging away at things that don’t work most of them time?
