It’s not really about science at all…
We tend to think of role models as being something for kids (or, if you’re of a certain age, a ropey Paul Rudd comedy about live-action roleplaying). But pause for a moment and you’ll realise we never stop having them. Whether it’s setting a goal and working out how to get there, identifying with a person similar to you or just a thirst for pure inspiration, everyone is constantly aspiring to be like someone else. Recently, someone confided to me that they felt a little intimidated by the giants of the chemistry field, unable to ever reach their heady heights. It was probably imposter syndrome talking (see Chemistry World, June 2016, p68), but is scientific achievement really what we use for inspiration?
We tend to think of role models as being something for kids (or, if you’re of a certain age, a ropey Paul Rudd comedy about live-action roleplaying). But pause for a moment and you’ll realise we never stop having them. Whether it’s setting a goal and working out how to get there, identifying with a person similar to you or just a thirst for pure inspiration, everyone is constantly aspiring to be like someone else. Recently, someone confided to me that they felt a little intimidated by the giants of the chemistry field, unable to ever reach their heady heights. It was probably imposter syndrome talking, but is scientific achievement really what we use for inspiration?
Not so, if the replies I received to that question on Twitter are anything to go by. From the deluge of responses I received, there was only two people named solely because of their chemical nous (take a bow, Phil Baran and Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova); everyone else was listed because of more human qualities and traits.
The skills most prized were creativity, mentor support and the ability to communicate. Others praised those who had achieved success but remained grounded, either through keeping their research focused on the real world or ‘just being so nice and humble’, as @cesapo described David Cole-Hamilton. Others focused on an inspirational work-life balance, either being able to juggle family commitments with great chemistry, being a high-profile role model for a marginalised community, or just having enough sense of fun to calculate the angle of your dab as @13adh13 did (if you don’t know what a dab is, ask a teenager).
This paints an astonishing human mosaic of inspiration in our lives. It’s easy to be consumed by work or to only think of crowning scientific achievements in terms of a Crispr, a graphene, a gold medal handed out by someone in Sweden. But while that stuff is clearly important – otherwise you wouldn’t be in a job – it’s the moments of kindness, time taken to help others, or just doing your thing openly, fearlessly and with a sense of humour. Of course we’re inspired by science; but the character of those who make the breakthroughs is the true font of chemical inspiration.
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