Skills for Scientists

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Scientific knowledge base

Depth of knowledge in chosen subject area

Breadth of knowledge in general field, adjacent fields, scientific literacy

Approach-specific knowledge base

Laboratory, field, theoretical/modeling approaches

Quantitative skills

Setting up a problem

Back of the envelope calculations

            Basic computing--algebra

            More advanced computing—linear algebra/differential equations

            Programming

           

Receptive communication skills

            Reading—textbooks

            Reading—papers

            Listening to seminars

Active communication skills

            Writing papers

            Writing proposals

            Writing “one-pagers”

            Designing Posters

            Presenting research

            Graphic design

Dynamic communication skills

            Reviewing papers/proposals

Poster sessions

            Working in pairs and/or groups

“fuzzy” skills

Creativity: coming up with new approaches

Curiosity: asking scientific questions

 Sense of scale of problem: How much detail is necessary?

Productivity: Getting things off the desk, though not necessarily perfect

Self-discipline/self-management/time-management

Clichéd but useful:

“Eighty percent of success is showing up”            -Woody Allen

 “Don’t boil the ocean”

Science is (or should be) about play: playing with ideas, numbers, pictures, puzzles.

A good science course should introduce students to scientific puzzling—so that scientists can ultimately figure out their own puzzles and solve them.