As a young boy I wanted to grow up to be a sportsman. But that all changed the day I entered my first school lab. Actually, it all started just before then. I vividly remember my feeling of anticipation the night before my first science class. I guess I’ve always been a science geek! Anticipation turned to awe when I walked into the lab and saw the array of Bunsen burners, conical flasks, test tubes and myriad other seemingly amazing bits of apparatus. Even the ancient wooden benches, made by Noah prior to starting on the Ark, were amazing! Throughout school the joy I felt each time I entered the lab was almost palpable. Simple tasks like looking at onion cells down a microscope filled me with fascination.
Scientists and elite sports stars aren’t as different as you’d think. Both groups are supremely talented and highly trained. A research scientist’s “pre-season” is spent writing grants. The “home and away” season is spent slogging it out at the bench. Here, we experience some low points but also massive highs. I suspect the sense of elation I have felt when I’ve got a result I was working towards for months - or when I got a result I never expected to get – equates with the exhilaration experienced by a winning athlete. And, to complete the sports analogy, publication of a paper is our geeky equivalent of winning a trophy at the end of a long, hard season. We frequently take for granted the thrills that a career in science give us. So next time you get a fantastic result, that makes the hairs stand on the back of your neck, treasure that moment and throw your arms in the air in celebration like the elite, talented intellectual athlete you are!
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