There's a popular quote floating among upper level science professors. I heard it at the beginning of every class I took this semester.
"The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know."
I heard this at the beginning of the semester and like 90% of the class I laughed for a good ten seconds and nodded my head for another 30. Simply because that quote resonates so well with me. The further I go along in my studies the more I have seen that the answers to questions are "we don't know". It's not that scientists as a whole have a lower IQ level or a lesser ability to display higher thinking; the answer comes from the fact that we have accepted just how little information we have about the world around us.
I also took a moment and thought why I was only hearing this NOW? Why at our junior/senior years are we just hearing "you don't really know as much as you think you do"? Did our professors want to knock us down before our job search began? Did they want to intimidate us about the material of the class? The answer to both questions is no. They had other ways of intimidation and an arsenal of Rate My Professor reviews to back them up. And the job search simply isn't a concern for them. Don't get me wrong, professors (in general) want their students to succeed and go on to bigger and better things, but on the first day of class... they really don't care yet.
Then I remembered what it was like to be a freshman/sophomore in college. I would have laughed at their opening statements. Not because I thought it was true, but because I didn't care. Freshman year I was looking to get good grades and make it thru. Sophomore year, I had academic success figured out and was looking to create some semblance of a social life. I wasn't looking to learn, I was looking to get by.
Fast forward a couple of years and I am now looking to learn as much as possible. I am reading scientific papers. (Still not my favorite literature...AT ALL) I am in the lab every day to look after an experiment that excites me. Every day I learn. And every day I realize how much I don't know. Which, oddly enough, alleviates pressure. Some day I might be the person to look to for information but today is not that day and tomorrow isn't looking too good either. If/when I do become that person I hope I remember that not knowing everything helps you to be a better learner. I'd rather be a good learner than a know-it-all any day of the week.
Go learn something.
Live Today.
"The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know."
I heard this at the beginning of the semester and like 90% of the class I laughed for a good ten seconds and nodded my head for another 30. Simply because that quote resonates so well with me. The further I go along in my studies the more I have seen that the answers to questions are "we don't know". It's not that scientists as a whole have a lower IQ level or a lesser ability to display higher thinking; the answer comes from the fact that we have accepted just how little information we have about the world around us.
I also took a moment and thought why I was only hearing this NOW? Why at our junior/senior years are we just hearing "you don't really know as much as you think you do"? Did our professors want to knock us down before our job search began? Did they want to intimidate us about the material of the class? The answer to both questions is no. They had other ways of intimidation and an arsenal of Rate My Professor reviews to back them up. And the job search simply isn't a concern for them. Don't get me wrong, professors (in general) want their students to succeed and go on to bigger and better things, but on the first day of class... they really don't care yet.
Then I remembered what it was like to be a freshman/sophomore in college. I would have laughed at their opening statements. Not because I thought it was true, but because I didn't care. Freshman year I was looking to get good grades and make it thru. Sophomore year, I had academic success figured out and was looking to create some semblance of a social life. I wasn't looking to learn, I was looking to get by.
Fast forward a couple of years and I am now looking to learn as much as possible. I am reading scientific papers. (Still not my favorite literature...AT ALL) I am in the lab every day to look after an experiment that excites me. Every day I learn. And every day I realize how much I don't know. Which, oddly enough, alleviates pressure. Some day I might be the person to look to for information but today is not that day and tomorrow isn't looking too good either. If/when I do become that person I hope I remember that not knowing everything helps you to be a better learner. I'd rather be a good learner than a know-it-all any day of the week.
Go learn something.
Live Today.
Admitting you don't know is to me so much more fun than pretending you do know! It always catches people off guard. In a good way.
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