• Question: how long does it take to become an great scientist

    Asked by ben the science guy to Usman, Freya on 16 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Usman Bashir

      Usman Bashir answered on 16 Jun 2015:

      Nice question. Great scientist = hard work + luck + talent.
      We can only control hard work, the other two, we have no control over. So lets say if a person is moderately talented and moderately lucky, then:

      if you have a passion for a scientific idea and you work hard over it, like an athlete who spends years in training, you can become a great scientist say in 10 – 20 years from starting.

      And guess what, that applies to most anything you wish to do in life!

    • Photo: Freya Wilson

      Freya Wilson answered on 19 Jun 2015:

      Some of the best scientists did their work really early on in their career- superconductors were invented by a guy during his PhD, Einstein published his most well known stuff during his PhD too. I think being a great scientist requires luck, and an open mind. If you are open minded then you are free to create and understand without the restrictions of doing what you think is expected- that’s where all the greatest ideas have come from.

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