閱讀筆記 S3008 The Good Scientist

Science 3008
The Good Scientist
Do you think you have what it takes to be a successful scientist?
 When you picture a scientist, you might think of a person in a white lab coat hunched over a test tube. He or she might be entering numbers into a computer or taking notes about the habits of wild animals. But what makes these people good scientists?
One of the most important qualities of a good scientist is curiosity. Curiosity makes a scientist ask why things happen. It makes him or her eager to learn more or test an idea. Remember the story of Newton and the apple?  He might never have discovered gravity if he hadn’t asked himself why the apple fell.
 Scientists must be good observers. They must watch the world around them in order to make sense of it. As they observe, they must keep an open mind.  They must be sure that their opinions don’t get in the way of the facts and evidence they find.
 Creativity is also important to scientists. They have to be able to see solutions in unusual places. Some of the greatest inventions might never have been made if scientists didn’t have great imaginations. Think of the telephone, the automobile, and TV.
 Communication is a must for scientists. Science is built on the work of earlier scientists.  If someone doesn’t share what he or she has found, it loses importance. Louis Pasteur found that disease is caused by organisms too tiny to be seen by the human eye. What if he had never shared his discovery?
 Scientists must be persistent. They have to be willing to try again and again if they don’t succeed the first time. The Wright Brothers had to try many times before their plane finally flew. People worked for years to find a vaccine for measles before they had any success. If they had given up too soon, the world might be a different place.
 Now that you know some of the qualities of good scientists, how do you measure up?