What scientists say about themselves and their research

The sound of scientific discovery is not always “Eureka” but “That's funny…” and  "hmm, very interesting" . You don't get very many that's-funny moments by thinking grand thoughts. You get them by rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty. (That can be metaphorical, of course; it doesn't mean you're pouring solutions into flasks, you could also be staring at examples of mathematical objects on a piece of paper).

A scientist will never be  afraid of making mistakes. Indeed scientists make lots of them. And very silly ones. If you hear about them you think scientists are dumb! Albert Einstein made mistakes—as did other towering figures of science such as Charles Darwin, Linus Pauling and Lord Kelvin, to name a few. These errors were not unfortunate incidents in otherwise unsullied careers but vital parts of the scientific process. But the great difference between ordinary people and scientists is the mistakes scientists make prepare them to search for alternate routes that lead them to new horizons. 

Science: If you don't make mistakes, you're doing it wrong. If you don't correct those mistakes,  you are doing it really wrong. If you can't accept that you're mistaken, you're not doing it at all!

People say it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong. It is their personality that takes them to greater heights.

Success in science = Great mental resilience!

Failure, frustration and (mental) fatigue constitute the first base camp of scientists' journey. They  might also become their second, third and fourth camps. Things will never be rosy in the beginning in the arena of science.  But, oh, yes, you reach glorious peaks only after you overcome several of these 'f's.

Scientists never  fail. They just find out 10,000 ways that won’t work. And 10001th one will definitely work for them!

What you have discovered or invented is hard enough but telling your colleagues what you have found and convincing them is the worst nightmare (that is why peer-reviewed  paper-publishing is so difficult)!  

Most of the people who provide or grant funds for scientific research don't understand it much ( they are usually industrialists - who are commerce graduates/ PGs, school drop-outs, politicians and who knows what ''these folks' brain stuff is made of'' kind of people)!

'Scientists Believe' is not supposed to be used in case of explaining a research result. But that is the most frequently used phrase by the journalists while describing a scientific achievement!

The most difficult part of research is the first six months. You will be like a baby lost in the woods. You have to figure out how to survive the wilderness, find a way out on your own, gather the most interesting things you come across, then try to help the world with your 'grand experiences'. 

"Think like a scientist" means think like a human being minus emotions! It is neutral thinking, critical thinking, informed imagination, thinking loaded with curiosity, thirst for knowledge and creativity. 

'Live like a scientist' means madly pursuing  a difficult problem until you make it unproblematic!

Do scientists know everything about everything in science? No! They are experts in their field of research and masters in general in their subject. But as they are trained in scientific methodology, they can understand what other scientists are doing in a better way. They understand data in the way it should be understood. Jargon in other fields gives them a bit of problem too but once they try to learn about the subject, things become easier for them. (It is like  - if you know alphabets of a language, scientists know alphabets, words, sentences and culture etc. too to interpret the language of this universe  in the right manner).

Scientist : You have a ten million followers that support your beliefs? Good. But I have just one fact based on reason that can beat you all!

Students ask 'can we complete our Ph.D.s in 3-4 years'? Extremely difficult in science. If you work for 18 hours (non-stop) a day, it might be possible to complete it in 4-5 years. Otherwise it might extend to 6-7 years. Prepare for it mentally.

People who have completed their Ph.D.s are 'trained scientists'.  People who are continuing their research work after completing their Ph.D. are 'practicing scientists'. 

It is important to differentiate "being a scientist" from "working as a scientist" (being paid to do what society and its institutions understand as scientific work). An example to make it clear:
Albert Einstein was a scientist, however at times he worked as a clerk in a patent office. Maybe we can say that, during that time, he was a scientist and a clerk. So there is a slight difference between the meaning of 'being a' and of 'working as a'. We cannot really say Einstein wasn't a scientist when he worked as a clerk! A trained scientist will always be a scientist whether he works as a scientist or not!

Why are scientists absent-minded most of the time...I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything ~ Nikola Tesla

If scientists are too open-minded... two things will happen: 1. Their brains will fall out  2. People will try to throw all sorts of rubbish into it.

If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? 

Science is organized common sense where many a beautiful theory was killed by an ugly fact.

If you try and take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have on your hands is a non-working cat. So scientists should also figure out how to bring it back to life before taking it apart!

A Physicist: I wouldn't trade my life in physics for all George Soros's billions. (And I loved this. We are drunk on science. Aren't we EC?  - K)

Scientists: Strange beings who are less curious about people and more curious about ideas.

Philosophy of scientists: