Words of Wisdom

This is something I had shared years ago when I taught my very first class. I think this applies well not just to learning, but also to life.

            I think one of the most beautiful things that I have learned about science is that one may not know or understand everything, but can yet derive great joy from just trying. This is especially true with regards to the complex field of biology. In a period of over a hundred years, we have gone from microbes to cells, from protein to DNA and from recombinant DNA technology to cloning and stem cell therapy. And there is still so much more to learn! Everyday, we learn of novel proteins and better pathways and even more signaling cascades! 
            All of this compels me to approach science, especially biology, with a little more humility. And humility, I’ve realized is a good virtue for a scientist, especially when the hypothesis does not bear out and the ‘month-long’ experiments yield negative results. But that I think is one of the best parts about doing science. Good or bad results are not really important, good experiments are. One need not understand all the answers, but one can really enjoy the process of testing one’s hypothesis. And every failure or success points one to a new direction, perhaps even a better one. 
            Life is so much like doing science. It’s one big experiment where many variables are unknown and there is so much still that remains to be discovered. Learning to do science has taught me not only about science but also about life. One can either go through life defeated because one does not know all the answers, or one can choose to learn, choose to discover and enjoy every step of the way. 

            I hope that you really enjoy this class and I hope that our learning experience together will teach us more not only about the immune system and biology, but also motivate us to make fresh discoveries and research novel ideas and enhance our perspectives about life and disease.