How to become a great scientist?
Quite a while ago I received the tip from Tineke en Marjolein to listen to a couple of podcasts and watch some popular scientific programs. During a training, Tineke had heard of the notion ‘developing a talent for science’, which stated that you can develop as a scientist by listening to other scientists and researchers.
Podcasts
Podcasts are very popular at the moment; they are a sort of radio shows made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device, typically available as a series, new instalments of which can be received by subscribers automatically. Podcasts are normally focused on a particular topic varying in length between 10 to 60 minutes. Sometimes there is one presenter, sometimes more, sometimes it is in the form of an interview. Most podcasts can be downloaded and listened to any time you would like.
Some ideas
- TED
- Podcasts of the New York Times
- The tips of lifehacker
- The search engine for podcasts
Other tips for podcasts: Passionate PhD’s and Research in Action.
I don’t listen very often to podcasts or watch TV so my question is: who has some more suggestions for (popular) scientific programs or podcasts? Share them in the comments below and others will benefit as well.
Have you considered starting your own podcast or blog maybe?
You can learn a lot from blogging or podcasting.
- You will build a completely new network; many researchers are quite willing to give you an hour of their time for an interview and you will talk to researchers without having to attend a conference,
- you will get more proficient in research; talking about it, thinking about it, getting to the essence,
- you will expand your academic footprint and
- you will learn new skills which will be very useful once you finished your PhD (marketing, social media, accessibility, ability to distinguish between main and subsidiary issues, sound quality, to name just a few).
I look forward to receiving your tips as well!
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