Age Is Just A Number

When is the right time to make a scientific discovery?

Maybe after your education is out of the way? Whew, now I don’t have to learn any more!

It turns out that education isn’t so much about learning facts as about learning how to add to and make use of your knowledge. Education becomes a lifetime practice.

While still in his teens, Benoit Mandelbrot saw science as a game where he would bring knowledge from another field of study to create breakthroughs. Of course, he thought he was losing valuable time applying himself to several fields of study, and working directly with some of the scientific giants of his age.

Maybe working with the best is part of the formula. Stewart Emery says the second requirement for growth is to surround yourself with people who are committed to growth.

My friend Ben, who has been training to become one of your guides at the Smithsonian Museum, shared a video about a scientist who made a discovery which has greatly added to our knowledge of early human origins. That scientist was nine at the time.

In the video, his father, Explorer In Residence at the National Geographic Society, discusses the importance of really seeing what is in front of you, because discoveries aren’t “out there” somewhere else, they are generally right where you choose to really look.

 http://youtu.be/zHcV_sBxpas

Junior Academy – Important science is a habit. Start now!