Letters to a Young Scientist

“Feel out in any way you can what you most want to do in science, or technology, or some other science-related profession. Obey that passion as long as it lasts. Feed it with the knowledge the mind needs to grow.”

Wilson’s primary advice to young scientists is to choose an area of study that is inspired by their passion. To Wilson, passion is one of the most important among The Qualities of a Scientist, as it is passion that encourages interest and advancement in a chosen scientific field.

“[S]uch math-phobes deprive science of an immeasurable amount of sorely needed talent and deprive the many scientific disciplines of some of their most creative young people. This is a hemorrhage of brainpower we need to stanch.”

A fear of math is one of the main reasons that Wilson sees people turn away from the sciences. He seeks to encourage young people to overcome their fear of math so that the world of science does not continue to lose talented minds.

“Everyone sometimes daydreams like a scientist at one level or another. Ramped up and disciplined, fantasies are the fountainhead of all creative thinking. Newton dreamed, Darwin dreamed, you dream.”

Wilson subverts the idea that the sciences are always purely rational and logical by emphasizing the amount of daydreaming a scientist must do. Like a poet or a writer, the scientist must engage in creative thinking to excel in their field—their dreams are vital.