I did not choose science, science chose me

For more than a decade, I enjoyed working as a research scientist in academia as well as in industry.  It was a very rewarding and educational experience. Science became an integral part of my life in 11th grade, and it will remain an integral part of the rest of my life as well. It shaped my thinking, cleared many of my doubts, taught me to be curious and not settle for vague or unverifiable answers, and many more things. But I did not choose science because I loved it or it was my dream since my childhood to become a scientist or anything like that. It was decided by my transcripts and social trends of that time. It sounds very dry and dispassionate, but in the end, it resulted in a very impassionate relationship between me and science.

In India, students have to decide which discipline they want to study very early in their student life when most of them have no clue what they want to do. I needed to make that selection after my 10th grade (even before finishing the highschool as far as the US education system goes). I needed to decide if I wanted to pursue my education in science, arts, or commerce. I decided to enroll in science, not because I loved science or I was passionate about research, there was no romanticism or love at first sight, or that I was best in science compared to other subjects, rather I scored highest in history. It was the merit list that made that decision for me. I got enough marks to be on a merit list for science discipline and that's how I began my journey towards the wonderland of science. Back then I had no clue where this journey would take me. I had no plans, no roadmap, no guide, and no mentor. My only aim was to finish college and get a decent job. I did not even know what was research and what was Ph.D. and why anyone would study beyond a B.Sc. (undergrad degree in India). But I am glad that science chose me and guided me. Initially, it was a struggle because of the language difference. I studied until my 10th grade in a Marathi medium and suddenly in 11th grade, everything was in English. For the first few months, I had no clue what was going on in class, but slowly I adjusted to this new reality and started enjoying the exciting subject matters from various disciplines of science.

One of the reasons I continued my education after my B.Sc. degree was that I really enjoyed what I was learning and it was helping me to find answers to many questions about which no one around me had any clue. It helped me to understand the source of various problems, helped me to come out of many superstitions and discriminatory rituals, trained me to ask questions, and also not to expect readymade answers but to go and find answers on my own. This all helped me personally, there were not many people who could guide me but libraries and books filled that void. Science did not inculcate the reading habit in me but it taught me not to read just for the sake of pleasure or entertainment. It made me think over what I read, analyze it, and then apply those things in my life. It made me open to new ideas, and challenge my own beliefs and prejudices. This approach has helped me tremendously in my life. Many times we face problems or situations about which we have no clue and people around us also are not able to help much, but there is a huge ocean of knowledge locked in many books, and if we know how to access that knowledge we can solve most of our problems using that knowledge. The truth is that almost every problem we face in our lives someone has faced before and they write about it, and that record can be a very useful source of information for us.

Science also taught me to live with the uncertainty in life. Science teaches you that you cannot know everything. Research is a never-ending process, there is no beginning and end to the knowledge. The process of conducting research is often more rewarding than the end result. Of course, the end result matters, but that itself is not everything. We cannot predict the future, and that is the reality, we need to live in the present and try to do our best with the hope that things will work as we plan there is nothing more in our hands. It also taught me how to deal with failures. Every scientist has to deal with failures. Negative results are an integral part of every scientist's life, but most scientists do not get discouraged by them. Yes, scientists also do get frustrated or feel sad about failed experiments, but just for that particular moment, because the next day they need to plan their next experiment with more excitement, rigor, and dedication because this is the only way to move forward. Science and scientists cannot afford to get stuck in the past, as there is always a next challenge waiting for them, something more complicated and exciting. Yesterday's success doesn't guarantee tomorrow's success and the same is true for failure. Many of the lessons which I learned from science have helped me in other aspects of my life and this is why I am glad that even though I did not choose science, science chose me.

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Martin Ginsburg - what an inspiration

While I was watching a documentary on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I came to know about her incredible husband and an amazing human being late Martin Ginsburg. What a man he was, an incredibly talented lawyer himself who supported each and every adventure of his life partner. I don't want to create an impression that normally husbands do not support the career aspirations of their wives, they do, but more often it is the wife who needs to adjust to the changing career situations of her husband. At least till now, this is the dominant picture. Slowly this is bound to change, but this man belonged to the era where any such example was almost next to impossible to find, but he wholeheartedly supported every career objective and ambition of his wife without any reservations or hesitation. He not only followed a path that was a rare thing during his time and is still a rare thing even today but also set up an example of a partnership where the roles are not defined by gender. He is an inspiration for every man or woman to learn how to coexist together without being jealous of each other and thrive in our own careers without imposing any unnecessary burdens on each other. I was immensely impressed by their incredible partnership. It is the partnership that matters in any relationship. If there is no mutual trust and respect then either it becomes an exploitative relationship for one of the partners or it develops cracks and starts to disintegrate. I encourage my readers to read more about them, maybe their stories can inspire you to support each other so that both can achieve their dreams without feeling that they compromised too much. 

I was impressed by the trust level between Justice Ginsburg and Martin, both were incredibly lucky to find each other, this is an amazing love story that needs to be told. I hope she writes more about their incredible journey so that others can learn from their struggles and triumphs. Thank you, Martin, for being such an amazing partner. 

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