The Importance of Stupidity and Sunshine

Not necessarily simultaneously.

I read two completely unrelated but very interesting articles this week, both of are which I thought are worth passing on.

The first, I would suggest every scientist read, is "The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research" by Dr. Schwartz. It was published in the Journal of Cell Science in 2006, and the article talks about this constant feeling of "stupidity" when doing research, and how this feeling is necessary for good science. When you're in lab, completely stumped, and you have no higher knowledge to refer to, it is then that you know you're doing good research. If you're asking the questions no one has answers to, you are by definition the cutting edge. That feeling of frustration has been felt by everyone who has worked in a lab, and this short article lets you rest assured that you are not alone, and that feeling is not in vain.

Having spent more than half of my semester reading Science, Nature and Cell papers, I understand what feeling Dr. Schwartz is referring to. The older papers read like a good detective novel: there was a question about basic science, the authors conducted a series of experiments to answer them, and in the end they had a definitive, conclusive mechanism or result to show for it. You left the paper with a satisfied feeling. However, as we began reading the more recent papers, published in 2008 and later, the conclusive detective novel transformed into a Goosebumps "choose your ending" storyline. The authors had a question, they conducted experiments to attempt to answer them, but the final meaning was open to interpretation. That satisfactory feeling was gone, as the papers raised more questions than they answered, and often left me wondering "so what?" and "how did this paper get published in Science?". That's when it hit me, these papers aren't conclusive because we are now at that cutting edge. This feeling of unsureness is a result of that same stupidity Dr. Schwartz is referring to. We are doing good science.

The second article, "Bright Ideas for Treating the Winter Blues" was something I came across in the Wall Street Journal this week that simply answered questions I've had for years. I've always joked that I must be a rare, photosynthesizing human because I found myself so much happier and more energetic in the sunshine. The article goes over the link between depression and the seasons, and ways to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder, which they suggest results from lack of sunshine throwing off your circadian rhythms, which in turn affects your mood. As I'm diving into my first winter on the east coast, I'm glad to know this information beforehand, and if things get too dark and depressing, I can always try some light therapy. Ahh, as if there weren't already enough reasons to live in California. :-)