After spending a day impaling little mousey legs onto a thumb tack, I was getting pretty sick of the minutae of doing research such as the pettiness and frustration and (sometimes) egotism that is typically associated with these endeavors. Last night I saw Samuel Ting, a Nobel Laureate in Physics, speak. This dude found a new subatomic particle, the J quark, that has properties that are very different from other quarks. He won his Nobel prize only two years after publishing his discovery, which is the shortest amount of time anyone has won a Nobel after publishing.
And, he loves UM football.
Earning your respective field's top accolade gives one a unique perspective and I was very curious on what he would talk about. He had five lessons, based on his career. The last lesson, the one I like most, was always find joy in discovery. Think about that. The joy of discovery. How simple, how wonderful.
How many times have you found something new or seen things in a different light? How do you feel afterwards? Excited, happy to learn, joyful? Or, depressed because you don't have things "right" and your safe haven of reality is thrown off kilter?
I'm off to discover the effect of diabetes on bone health. Even though the data analysis is routine, I'm excited because I'll be discovering something new. With spring here, there are so many chances for new discoveries and much joy. The crocus flowers, the chirping robins, new career opportunities, watching amourous squirrels chase each other, new loved ones.
PS, This morning in yoga class, I learned where my kidneys are located. I've been wrong all these years! Cool huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment