Discoveries are delicate things. To make a discovery, a scientist needs to be familiar enough with prior research to formulate an important question that is neither too easy nor too difficult to answer.
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Scientific inquiry is an arc of knowledge, a series of steps on a path toward a deeper understanding of the unknown, and the breakthroughs only come because of the body of knowledge that previous observations have built.
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The closest thing to an indispensable characteristic is a passion for the work and a near-obsessive interest in seeing it through […]
This is one of the most interesting articles I have read this year. It presents a fascinating view of the twists and turns leading to the discovery of insulin and treatments for diabetes — and it has important lessons to teach about the nature of innovation and discovery.
