Scientific Attitude

by **Sinead Ryan** » Sat May 21, 2005 11:41 am

My biology lecturer just gave a lecture regarding the basic principles of biology. He said that a scientific attitude was very important and gave a list of characteristics which he said were very important. He focused on one in particular that many of us would have put much farther down the list of importance... What do you guys think???

by **mith** » Sat May 21, 2005 3:01 pm

I think flexibility is most important. When being a scientist, you're always at the cutting edge of the field and many times, you have to adapt to change to have any real progress.

by **ScottishKevin** » Sat May 21, 2005 5:33 pm

That's true, although I picked interest. I picked this as I think in order to understand, appreciate and work with your surroundings you need to enjoy it in the first place.

by **MrMistery** » Sat May 21, 2005 6:12 pm

I think interest is important, because before you discover something, you will probably fail a lot of times. It is important not to lose faith

by **biostudent84** » Sat May 21, 2005 6:25 pm

According to the science theory I've read, it seems Objectivity is most important.

by **Jelanen** » Sat May 21, 2005 6:48 pm

Objectivity is a myth. It exists in the same place as the exact iteration of pi. Its a lovely ideal to aspire to, but its unattainable. Best thing is to identify your areas of subjectivity and know you have them and how they affect your world-view.

-Jelanen

by **biostudent84** » Sat May 21, 2005 7:20 pm

Jelanen wrote:Objectivity is a myth. It exists in the same place as the exact iteration of pi. Its a lovely ideal to aspire to, but its unattainable. Best thing is to identify your areas of subjectivity and know you have them and how they affect your world-view.

-Jelanen

Nirvana is also a myth. Yet those considered the "best in the field of Buddhism" never cease to attain it.

by **Niqqie** » Sat May 21, 2005 8:10 pm

I voted flexibility, experiments don't always work out as planned. As a scientist you need to know how to bounce back and change your setup or hypothesis.

by **lohita** » Sat May 21, 2005 10:33 pm

i think interest and curiosity are important principals that a scientist must have

by **Tam** » Sun May 22, 2005 11:20 am

i voted flexibility for the same reasons as mithrilhack.

by **James** » Sun May 22, 2005 1:18 pm

Difficult to say which one is most important as each aspect would be beneficial to have.

by **mith** » Sun May 22, 2005 3:23 pm

Let me pose a piggyback question, without which trait would being a scientist be impossible?

Scientific Attitude

What is the most important characteristic for a scientist to have???

Scientific Attitude

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