Science is all around us, I think that many people have a misconception of what science really is. Simply put science is understanding what happens around us, this means that in everything we can see, touch, feel and do there is science to be found within it. From the mathematicians that describe the oscillation of a drum skin using mathematical functions, to the physicist that aims to understand the formation of bubbles in an aerated fluid i.e. milkshake.

Science is not just the hard stuff that the average person doesn’t understand, it is all the things around us, it plays a role in our everyday life and understanding it enables us to do amazing things. I am saddened by the impression that many people have that studying science or doing a PhD is not a ‘real job’, academics and students alike work long hours for little respect in most modern day societies. Students especially are often under appreciated resources that are used and abused as a cheap, free or even paying labour force. In the last years of my pre PhD studies I was paying $2000 for the privilidge of working 8-12 hours a day for 6 weeks.

The thing that cuts deep about this is that society doesn’t often appreciate the work that is being done, I talk with family and friends and they often question my research or the research of other people I know. If they don’t understand what the research is they often are suprised that you can get paid to research in that field. These type questions play a constant role in the evolution and perceived value of scientific research, but what is the intrinsic value of knowledge can you put a price on that?

Whether the knowledge is something that everyone in the general public will be interested in or whether it is an esoteric field that only a handful of people worldwide understand or have an interest in, knowledge is valuable, some would say for knowledge sake but I say that knowledge is valuable for the foundation it provides, for the building materials it gives us and for what may come in the future. Sure at the moment esoteric fields like dark energy may seem irrelevant but in the future when we are using that research to manipulate dark energy for space exploration I am sure people will appreciate the importance of it, unfortunately they probably won’t appreciate the work that was done now.

The hardest thing in science is often knowing where an exploration will lead or knowing what it is we need to know before we find it. The origin of computers rests on semiconductor technology which wasn’t discovered because we needed computers it was discovered because somebody said ‘hmmm that’s interesting’ and then studied the electronic properties of a set of elements. Taking that fundamental research humanity has then developed it into devices that we use in every aspect of our lives, but without that original esoteric set of discoveries computers wouldn’t exist.

So take some joy in life take the time to look around you and see what you can see. Ask why the soap bubble shows a rainbow, why the ripples in that pond look strange and the next time you talk to scientist involved in an esoteric field of research just be thankful that they are doing the hard work and thinking about these problems so you don’t have to.

Cheers,
Daniel