Letters to a Young Scientist

“[S]uch math-phobes deprive science of an immeasurable amount of sorely needed talent and deprive the many scientific disciplines of some of their most creative young people. This is a hemorrhage of brainpower we need to stanch.”

A fear of math is one of the main reasons that Wilson sees people turn away from the sciences. He seeks to encourage young people to overcome their fear of math so that the world of science does not continue to lose talented minds.

“Everyone sometimes daydreams like a scientist at one level or another. Ramped up and disciplined, fantasies are the fountainhead of all creative thinking. Newton dreamed, Darwin dreamed, you dream.”

Wilson subverts the idea that the sciences are always purely rational and logical by emphasizing the amount of daydreaming a scientist must do. Like a poet or a writer, the scientist must engage in creative thinking to excel in their field—their dreams are vital.

“A distinguished researcher once commented to me that a real scientist is someone who can think about a subject while talking to his or her spouse about something else.”

To Wilson, the scientist must be able to exist on two different planes: One where they are thinking about their field of study at all times, and another where they are living their day-to-day lives. This is a very similar quality to that of many writers or artists, who often also describe living on these two different levels.

“Nonetheless, through it all, I advise you to look for a chance to break away, to find a subject you can make your own.”

A successful scientist, Wilson argues, must be able to carve out a space of expertise that is entirely their own. This quality will make them experts in their field and will enable them to make cutting-edge discoveries and contributions to the scientific community.

“Better to know one thing in depth rather than a dozen things at their surface only.”

For scientists, Wilson sees great value in depth of knowledge, rather than breadth. His pursuit of the study of ants for his entire (very successful) scientific career is evidence that this approach does afford the scientist many opportunities for success.

“The subject for you, as in any true love, is one in which you are interested and that stirs passion and promises pleasure from a lifetime of devotion.”

Again, Wilson highlights the importance of passion for a chosen subject, emphasizing passion’s role in The Qualities of a Scientist. Especially as he encourages the pursuit of one subject for an entire career, passion for that subject is important to ensure sustained interest across many decades.

“But never forget that your profession is exploration of the real world, with no preconceptions or idols of the mind accepted, and testable truth the only coin of the realm.”

While Wilson does encourage readers to keep an open mind about supernatural phenomena, he cautions scientists to remain grounded. The scientific discipline is one rooted in real, tangible evidence that can be repeated in a controlled environment.

“I recommend creating scenarios that end with goals, then choosing ones you might wish to pursue. Make it a practice to indulge in fantasy about science.”

Although Wilson does urge scientists to stay away from fantasy to explain phenomena, he also encourages a different kind of fantasy—one where scientists imagine what could be possible, and set out to discover if that possibility is true. Scientists should imagine a possibility and then set out to either prove or disprove it using the scientific method.

“The ideal scientist thinks like a poet and only later works like a bookkeeper. Keep in mind that innovators in both literature and science are basically dreamers and storytellers.”

Wilson equates scientists with poets and writers, arguing that all of them are dreamers and storytellers; they just use different languages to convey their ideas. This is yet another way that Wilson highlights how creative the sciences can be, to draw creative minds into the sciences.

“Being bright, then, is just not enough for those who dream of success in scientific research. Mathematical fluency is not enough. To reach and stay at the frontier, a strong work ethic is absolutely essential.”

Wilson describes many of The Qualities of a Scientist that are necessary for being successful in a scientific career, but focuses here on one of the most important qualities: a strong work ethic. All the other elements that make up a good scientist are effectively useless without a strong work ethic, as science requires a lot of mundane yet rigorous work.

“The principle I have drawn from this history is the following: use but don’t love technology. If you need it but find it at all forbiddingly difficult, recruit a better-prepared collaborator. Put the project first and, by any available and honorable means, complete and publish the results.”

Wilson warns scientists to not get too caught up in the allure of technology when doing their job. Technology is merely a tool to be used in the pursuit of completing a project and publishing its results. His advice to “recruit a […] collaborator” if necessary also speaks to The Value of the Scientific Community and working with others.

“I believe the creative process usually unfolds in a very different way. It arises and for a while germinates in a solitary brain. It commences as an idea and, equally important, the ambition of a single person who is prepared and strongly motivated to make discoveries in one domain of science or another.”

Wilson relates the scientific process to the creative process, wherein a single artist (or scientist) brings forth an idea. Although there is value in a scientific community, for Wilson, the scientist’s ideas must arise from their own brain after a period of thought and contemplation.

“These several archetypes resonate up from the deep roots of human nature. They are appealing and easily understood. They convey meaning and power to humanity’s creation myths. They are retold in the epic stories of history. They are the themes of great dramas and novels.”

Wilson argues that the archetypes that are manifest in the epic stories of history, and in great novels and dramas, resonate with humanity because they are present in the scientific world; they are a universal “truth.” Scientific discovery and progress contains all of these great literary archetypes at its core: e.g., the journey to an unexplored land, the search for the grail, and the fight of good against evil.

“Humanity needs more experts who have the passion and breadth of knowledge to know what to look for in the first place.”

Throughout much of Letters to a Young Scientist, Wilson repeats that the scientific community, and humanity at large, needs more scientists. He encourages scientists to nurture their passion and their knowledge so that they know where to look to solve the problems that humanity faces.

“And, oh, before I forget to remind you. You don’t need to engage in fantasy to envision cultures, or whole faunas and floras, on another planet. In fact, my extraterrestrial termites, minus culture, are based on the real mound-building termites of Africa.”

Wilson argues that science fiction writers should look to Earth when writing about alien societies. Indeed, the basis for most science and speculative fiction writing is the real world, and many writers like China Miéville, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Ann Leckie are inspired by the real world when designing alien species, cultures, and societies.

“To make important discoveries anywhere in science, it is necessary not only to acquire a broad knowledge of the subject that interests you, but also the ability to spot blank spaces in that knowledge.”

It is not enough to know a lot about a subject; one must also be able to discern where there is a lack of knowledge. If a scientist is able to do so, they are better able to decide where their efforts are needed and where they can make important discoveries in a given discipline.

“Rather, I wish to stress how little we know of life on this planet.”

One of the many reasons that Wilson argues the world needs more scientists is because there is still, after so many centuries of scientific advancement and discovery, a huge amount that is unknown about life on Earth. Without a flourishing scientific community, humanity will continue to be in the dark. This passage also reflects Wilson’s emphasis on The Importance of Biodiversity.

“We need a larger scientific effort, and many more scientists in all disciplines. Now I’ll repeat what I’ve said when I began these letters: you are needed.”

Here Wilson appeals directly to the young scientist. Much of the content of his letters have been concerned with stories about working in the scientific field in order to encourage, or even tempt, a young reader to the field of study. In this quote, he lays those tactics aside and implores the reader, saying that science desperately needs more practitioners for the good of the world.

“Success in biology is an evolutionary idea. It is best defined as the longevity of a species with all its descendants.”

Wilson provides the definition of success used in biology when describing a scientist’s career. The success of a scientist lies in the longevity of their theories and ideas, where these theories and ideas are a scientist’s “descendants.”

“That synthesis will continue as the study of biological diversity expands in widening circles of inquiry to other disciplines, to other levels of biological organization, and across farther reaches of time. You have a place in it if animals and plants interest you in their own right, and especially if you like epics and the clash of worlds.”

Wilson paints a picture of evolutionary biology as an epic clash of worlds, portraying it as an exciting field of study that is growing every day. This passage encourages young scientists to think of biological diversity as something exciting and ever-developing, rather than a dry field of study.

“In science every answer raises more questions. I will ramp up that important truth to an exponential degree: in science every answer creates many more questions.”

Wilson highlights one of the facets of scientific study that a scientific mind should find alluring: Answers generate even more questions. To Wilson, a scientist should not shy away from the possibility of more questions; they should pursue the questions and the answers for as long as they are able.

“[S]uccessful research doesn’t depend on mathematical skill, or even the deep understanding of theory. It depends to a large degree on choosing an important problem and finding a way to solve it, even if imperfectly at first. Very often ambition and entrepreneurial drive, in combination, beat brilliance.”

A great scientist, in Wilson’s view, does not have to be a genius or a mathematical expert. Instead, taking a creative approach to the subject matter and being determined and ambitious enough to solve a particular problem are the most important among The Qualities of a Scientist. Scientific study is not always straightforward, and it sometimes presents unexpected problems, so scientists must be able to continue working without giving up.

“Original discoveries, to remind you, are what count the most. Let me put that more strongly: they are all that counts.”

A scientist should be wary of plagiarism and not citing the source of their ideas accurately. As science is the pursuit of truth, everything involved in the scientific process must be true, credited to the correct source, and verifiable. Acknowledging and respecting the contributions of others is part of recognizing The Value of the Scientific Community.