Dear Greg,

Your comment about being a lab monk got me thinking about Neal Stephenson’s book Anathem, which describes an alternative Earth where scientists — not members of a religious order — live a cloistered life away from the demands of the outside world. In the end that cloistered world br[......]

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Dear Marty,

It is heartening to hear that you think I will do fine in selecting a good problem to work on, since I obviously have my doubts. We have been discussing the choice of a research topic in some detail, but we have not yet touched upon the actual day-to-day practice of science. Scientist[......]

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Dear Greg,

I like your distinction between justification and motivation and your desire to include wanting to improve the world as one of your motivations. Talking about motivation, however, is tricky, since people have so many reasons, some acknowledged and some not, for doing what they do. And[......]

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Dear Marty,

Thank you very much for your kind reply. From a practical point of view, i.e., regarding what kind of research I plan on doing, I concur with your advice. I share your wariness of translational research and the unrealistic expectation of immediate outcomes from basic science.

But s[......]

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Dear Greg,

Your concern about the applicability of your research is important, but I feel that the pressures on all researchers (especially new researchers) may be different now than when I began my research career.  Many of my ideas about research were formed while interacting with colleagues du[......]

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