An advice for a young researcher...

(A copy paste from J Supercond Nov Magn (2012) 25:2119–2120, Author: Ivan K. Schuller)

13 rules to follow!!

1. Physics is like painting, so the key is passion.

2. Never give up, even when the situation looks desperate. . . something will happen.

3. You cannot control genetics i.e. your IQ, but you can control how hard you work. So have an illusion to drive you.

4. Do what you like, but above all like what you do. As the Spanish poet Machado said it “Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar”. Paraphrasing: the important thing is the process, not necessarily the end results.

5. Don’t worry about your pedigree. It is possible to move to first rate institutions even from lowly origins.

6. Have sanity checks of your science by explaining it to non experts. You should be able to do this, at all levels without being condescending. If you can’t explain it to non experts, it probably has no lasting value.

7. You can do excellent science, even if you are not at the top institution.

8. One can make infinite excuses why something will not work. A good scientist does it in spite of the excuses.

9. Don’t try to prove a result, but discover what nature wants to reveal to you. The interesting and exciting result is whatever nature hands you, not what you want it to be.

10. Keep in touch with your classmates; they will be your future colleagues.

11. Don’t agonize over things you can’t control; rejected proposals, stupid referees, aggressive old men, difficult colleagues. . . . File themas they come, and go to the next thing.

12. Remember that there is nothing like that solitary knowledge at night after you uncovered a secret which only you know. No other one in the universe.

13. Above all don’t try to get payment for every single thing you do. It is a law of physics that whatever you do for others eventually comes back to you. So help out those after you, the same way you were helped.

So, myself!! Be prepared, and just follow these above rules..please...

From Birm, with Love,
Sufiah