Youandyourresearch

astrokeofgenius:strivingforgreatnessinallyoudobyR.W.
Hamming
Littlehasbeenwrittenonmanagingyourownresearch(andverylittle
onavoidingotherpeoplemanagingyourresearch);however,your
researchismuchmoreunderyourcontrolthanyoumayrealize.
Weareconcernedwithgreatresearchhere.Workthatwillgetwide
recognition,perhapsevenwineNobelPrize.Asmostpeoplerealize,
theaveragepublishedpaperisreadbytheauthor,thereferee,and
perhapsoneotherperson.Classicpapersarereadbythousands.We
areconcernedwithresearchthatwillmatterinthelongrunand
becomemorethanafootnoteinhistory.
Ifyouaretodoimportantworkthenyoumustworkontheright
problemattherighttimeandintherightway.Withoutanyoneofthe
three,youmaydogoodworkbutyouwillalmostcertainlymissreal
greatness.
Greatnessisamatterofstyle.Forexample,afterlearningthe
elementsofpainting,youstudyunderamaster.Whilestudyingyou
payattentiontowhatthemastersaysindiscussingyourwork,butyou
knowthatifyouaretoachievegreatnessthenyoumustfindyourown
style.Furthermore,asuccessfulstyleinoneageisnotnecessarily
appropriateforanotherage.Cubismwouldnothavegoneoverbig
duringtherealismperiod.
Similarly,thereisnosimpleformulafordoinggreatscienceor
engineering,Icanonlytalkaroundthetopic.Thetopicisimportant
because,sofaraswehaveanysolidevidence,youhavebutonelife
tolive.Underthesecircumstancesitseemsbettertolivealifein
whichyoudoimportantthings(importantinyoureyes,ofcourse)
thantomerelyliveoutyourlife.Nosensefritteringawayyourlifeon
thingsthatwillnotevenappearinthefootnotes.
choosingtheproblem
Ibeginwiththechoiceofproblem.Mostscientistsspendalmostallof
theirtimeworkingonproblemsthateventheyadmitareneithergreat
orarelikelytoleadtogreatwork;hence,almostsurely,theywillnot
doimportantwork.Notethatimportanceoftheresultsofasolution
doesnotmaketheproblemimportant.Inallthe30yearsIspentat
BellTelephoneLaboratories(beforeitwasbrokenup)noonetomy
knowledgeworkedontimetravel,teleportation,orantigravity.Why?
Becausetheyhadnoattackontheproblem.Thusanimportantaspect
ofanyproblemisthatyouhaveagoodattack,agoodstartingplace,
somereasonableideaofhowtobegin.
Toillustrate,considermyexperienceatBTL.ForthefirstfewyearsI
atelunchwithhemathematicians.Isoonfoundthattheyweremore
interestedinfunandgamesthaninseriouswork,soIshiftedtoeating
withthephysicstable.ThereIstayedforanumberofyearsuntilthe
NobelPrize,promotions,andoffersfromothercompanies,removed
mostoftheinterestingpeople.SoIshiftedtothecorresponding
chemistrytablewhereIhadafriend.
AtfirstIaskedwhatweretheimportantproblemsinchemistry,then
whatimportantproblemstheywereworkingon,orproblemsthat
mightleadtoimportantresults.OnedayIasked,"ifwhattheywere
workingonwasnotimportant,andwasnotlikelytoleadtoimportant
things,theywhyweretheyworkingonthem?"AfterthatIhadtoeat
withtheengineers!
Aboutfourmonthslater,myfriendstoppedmeinthehalland
remarkedthatmyquestionhadbotheredhim.Hehadspentthe
summerthinkingabouttheimportantproblemsinhisarea,andwhile
hadhadnotchangedhisresearchhethoughtitwaswellworththe
effort.Ithankedhimandkeptwalking.AfewweekslaterInoticed
thathewasmadeheadofthedepartment.Manyyearslaterhebecame
amemberoftheNationalAcademyofEngineering.Theoneperson
whocouldhearthequestionwentontodoimportantthingsandall
theotherssofarasIknowdidnotdoanythingworthpublic
attention.
Therearemanyrightproblems,butveryfewpeoplesearchcarefully
forthem.Rathertheysimplydriftalongdoingwhatcomestothem,
followingtheeasiestpathtotomorrow.Greatscientistsallspendalot
oftimeandeffortinexaminingtheimportantproblemsintheirfield.
Manyhavealistof10to20problemsthatmightbeimportantifthey
hadadecentattack.Asaresult,whentheynoticesomethingnewthat
theyhadnotknownbutseemstoberelevant,thentheyareprepared
toturntothecorrespondingproblem,workonit,andgettherefirst.
Somepeopleworkwiththeirdoorsopeninclearviewofthosewho
passby,whileotherscarefullyprotectthemselvesfrominterruptions.
Thosewiththedooropengetlessworkdoneeachday,butthosewith
theirdoorclosedtendnotknowwhattoworkon,noraretheyaptto
hearthecluestothemissingpiecetooneoftheir"list"problems.I
cannotprovethattheopendoorproducestheopenmind,ortheother
wayaround.Ionlycanobservethecorrelation.Isuspectthateach
reinforcestheother,thatanopendoorwillmorelikelyleadyouand
importantproblemsthanwillacloseddoor.
Hardworkisatraitthatmostgreatscientistshave.Edisonsaidthat
geniuswas99%perspirationand1%inspiration.Newtonsaidthatif
otherswouldworkashardashedidthentheywouldgetsimilar
results.Hardworkisnecessarybutitisnotsufficient.Mostpeopledo
notworkashardastheyeasilycould.However,manywhodowork
hardworkonthewrongproblem,atthewrongtime,inthewrong
way,andhaveverylittletoshowforit.
Youareawarethatfrequentlymorethanonepersonstartsworkingon
thesameproblemataboutthesametime.Inbiology,bothDarwin
andWallacehadtheideaofevolutionataboutthesametime.Inthe
areaofspecialrelativity,manypeoplebesidesEinsteinwereworking
onit,includingPoincare.However,Einsteinworkedontheideainthe
rightway.
Thefirstpersontoproducedefinitiveresultsgenerallygetsallthe
credit.Thosewhocomeinsecondaresoonforgotten.Thusworking
ontheproblemattherighttimeisessential.Einsteintriedtofinda
unifiedtheory,spentmostofhislaterlifeonit,anddiedinahospital
stillworkingonitwithnosignificantresults.Apparently,heattacked
theproblemtooearly,orperhapsitwasthewrongproblem.
Thereareapairoferrorsthatareoftenmadewhenworkingonwhat
youthinkistherightproblemattherighttime.Oneistogiveuptoo
soon,andtheotheristopersistandnevergetanyresults.Thesecond
isquitecommon.Obviously,ifyoustartonawrongproblemand
refusetogiveup,youareautomaticallycondemnedtowastetherest
ofyourlife(seeEinsteinabove).Knowingwhenyoupersistisnot
easyifyouarewrongthenyouarestubborn;butifyouturnoutto
beright,thenyouarestrongwilled.
Inowturntothemajorexcusegivenfornotworkingonimportant
problems.Peoplearealwaysclaimingthatsuccessisamatterofluck,
butasPasteurpointedout,"Luckfavorsthepreparedmind."
Agreatdealofdirectexperience,vicariousexperiencethrough
questioningothers,andreadingextensively,convincesmeofthetruth
ofhisstatement.Outstandingsuccessesaretoooftendonebythe
samepeopleforitbeamatterofrandomchance.
Forexample,whenIfirstmetFeynmannatLosAlamosduringthe
WWII,IbelievedthathewouldgetaNobelPrize.Hisenergy,his
style,hisabilities,allindicatedthathewasapersonwhowoulddo
manythings,andprobablyatleastonewouldbeimportant.Einstein,
aroundtheageof12or14,askedhimselfwhatalightwavewould
looklikeifhewantatthespeedoflight.HeknewthatMaxwell's
theorydidnotsupportalocal,stationarymaximum,butwaswhathe
oughttoseeifthecurrenttheorywascorrect.Soitisnotsurprising
thathelaterdevelopedthespecialtheoryofrelativityhehad
preparedhismindforitlongbefore.
Manytimesadiscussionwithapersonwhohasjustdonesomething
importantwillproduceadescriptionofhowtheywereled,almost
stepbystep,totheresult.Itisusuallybasedonthingstheyhaddone,
orintenselythoughtabout,yearsago.Yousucceedbecauseyouhave
preparedyourselfwiththenecessarybackgroundlongago,without,
ofcourse,knowingthenthatitwouldprovetobeanecessarystepto
success.
Personaltraits
Theretraitsarenotallessential,buttendtobepresentinmostdoers
ofgreatthingsinscience.First,successfulpeopleexhibitmore
activity,moreenergy,thanmostpeopledo.Theylookmoreplaces,
theyworkharder,theythinklongerthanlesssuccessfulpeople.
Knowledgeandabilityaremuchlikecompoundinterestthemore
youdothemoreyoucando,andthemoretheopportunitiesareopen
foryou.Thus,amongotherthings,itwasFeynmann'senergyandhis
constantlytryingnewthingsthatmadeonethinkhewouldsucceed.
Thistraitmustbecoupledwithemotionalcommitment.Perhapsthe
ablestmathematicianIhavewatchedupcloseseldom,ifever,seemed
tocaredeeplyabouttheproblemhewasworkingon.Hehasdone
greatdealoffirstclasswork,butnotofthehighestquality.Deep
emotionalcommitmentseemstobenecessaryforsuccess.Thereason
isobvious.Theemotionalcommitmentkeepsyouthinkingaboutthe
problemmorning,noonandnight,andthattendstobeatoutmere
ability.
WhileIwasatLosAlamosafterthewar,Igottothinkingaboutthe
famousBuffonneedleproblemwhereyoucancalculatethe
probabilityofaneedletossedatrandomofcrossingoneofaseriesof
equallyspacedparallellines.Iaskedmyselfifitwasessentialthatthe
needlebeastraightlinesegment(ifIcountedmultiplecrossing)?No.
Needtheparallellinesbestraight?No.Needtheybeequallyspaced
orisitonlytheaveragedensityofthelinesontheplane?Isit
surprisingthatsomeyearslateratBellLabswhenIwasaskedby
somemetallurgistshowtomeasuretheamountofgrainboundaryon
somemicrophotographsIsimplysaid,"Countthecrossingsofa
randomlineoffixedlengthonthepicture?"Iwasledtoitbythe
previous,carefulthoughtaboutaninteresting,andIthought
important,resultinprobability.Theresultisnotgreat,butillustrates
themechanismsofpreparationandemotionalinvolvement.
TheabovestoryalsoillustrateswhatIcallthe"extramile."Ididmore
thantheminimum,Ilookeddeeperintothenatureoftheproblem.
Thisconstantefforttounderstandmorethanthesurfacefeatureofa
situationobviouslypreparesyoutoseenewandslightlydifferent
applicationsofyourknowledge.Youcannotdomanyproblemssuch
astheaboveneedleproblembeforeyoustumbleonanimportant
application.
Courageisanotherattributeofthosewhodogreatthings.Shannonis
agoodexample.Forsometimehewouldcometoworkatabout
10:00am,playchessuntilabout2:00pmandgohome.
Theimportantpointishowheplayedchess.Whenattackedhe
seldom,ifever,defendedhisposition,ratherheattackedback.Sucha
methodofplayingsoonproducesaveryinterrelatedboard.Hewould
thenpauseabit,thinkandadvancehisqueensaying,"Iain'tafraidof
nothin'."Ittookmeawhiletorealizethatofcoursethatiswhyhewas
abletoprovetheexistenceofgoodcodingmethods.Whobut
Shannonwouldthinktoaverageoverallrandomcodesandexpectto
findthattheaveragewasclosetoideal?Ilearnedfromhimtosaythe
sametomyselfwhenstuck,andonsomeoccasionshisapproach
enabledmetogetsignificantresults.
Withoutcourageyouareunlikelytoattackimportantproblemswith
anypersistence,andhencenotlikelytodoimportantthings.Courage
bringsselfconfidence,anessentialfeatureofdoingdifficultthings.
However,itcanborderonoverconfidenceattimewhichismoreofa
hindrancethanahelp.
Thereisanothertraitthattookmemanyyearstonotice,andthatis
theabilitytotolerateambiguity.Mostpeoplewanttobelievewhat
theylearnisthetruth:thereareafewpeoplewhodoubteverything.If
youbelievetoomuchthenyouarenotlikelytofindtheessentially
newviewthattransformsafield,andifyoudoubttoomuchyouwill
notbeabletodomuchatall.Itisafinebalancebetweenbelieving
whatyoulearnandatthesametimedoubtingthings.Greatsteps
forwardusuallyinvolveachangeofviewpointtooutsidethestandard
onesinthefield.
Whileyouareleaningthingsyouneedtothinkaboutthemand
examinethemfrommanysides.Byconnectingtheminmanyways
withwhatyoualreadyknow....youcanlaterretrievetheminunusual
situations.IttookmealongtimetorealizethateachtimeIlearned
somethingIshouldput"hooks"onit.Thisisanotherfaceoftheextra
effort,thestudyingmoredeeply,thegoingtheextramile,thatseems
tobecharacteristicofgreatscientists.
Theevidenceisoverwhelmingthatstepsthattransformafieldoften
comefromoutsiders.Inarchaeology,carbondatingcamefrom
physics.ThefirstairplanewasbuiltbytheWrightbrotherswhowere
bicycleexperts.
Thus,asanexpertinyourfield,youfaceadifficultproblem.Thereis,
apparently,anoceanofkookswiththeircrazyideas;however,ifthere
isagreatstepforwarditprobablywillbemadebyoneofthem!Ifyou
listentoomuchtothemthenyouwillnotgetanyofyourownwork
done,butifyouignorethemthenyoumaymissyourgreatchance.I
havenosimpleanswerexceptdonotdismisstheoutsidertooabruptly
asisgenerallydonebyintheinsiders.
"Brains""arenicetohave,butoftenthetopgraduatestudentsdonot
contributeasmuchassomelowerratedones.Brainscomeinallkinds
offlavors.Experimentalphysicistsdonotthinkthesamewayas
theoreticiansdo.Someexperimentalistsseemtothinkwiththeir
hands,i.e.,playingwithequipmentletsthemthinkmoreclearly.It
tookmeafewyearstorealizethatpeoplewhodidnotknowalotof
mathematicsstillcouldcontribute.Justbecausetheycouldnotsolvea
quadraticequationimmediatelyintheirheaddidnotmeanIshould
ignorethem.Whensomeone'sflavorofbrainsdoesnotmatchyours
maybemorereasonforpayingattentiontothem.
Vision
Youneedavisionofwhoyouareandwhereyourfieldisgoing.A
suitableparableisthatofthedrunkensailor.Hestaggersonewayand
thentheotherwithindependent,randomsteps.Innstepshewillbe,
ontheaverage,about3nstepsawayfromwherehestarted.butif
thereisaprettygirlinonedirectionhewillgetadistance
proportionalton.Thedifference,overalifetimeofchoices,between
3nandnisverylargeandrepresentsthedifferencebetweenhaving
novisionandhavingavision.Theparticularvisionyouhaveisless
importantthanjusthavingonetherearemanypathstosuccess.
Therefore,itiswisetohaveavisionofwhatyoumaybecome,of
whereyouwanttogo,aswellashowtogetthere.Novision,not
muchchanceofdoinggreatwork;withavisionyouhaveagood
chance.
AnothertopicImustdiscussisthatofage.Historically,thegreatest
contributionsofmathematicians,theoreticalphysicists,and
astrophysicistsaredonewhentheyareveryyoung.Ontheotherhand,
apparentlyinmusiccomposition,politics,andliterature,thelater
worksaremostvaluedbysociety.Otherareasseemtofallinbetween
theseextremes,andyouneedtorealizethatinsomeareasyouhad
bettergetgoingpromptly.
Peopleoftencomplainabouttheworkingconditionstheyhavetoput
upwith,butitiseasilyobservedthatsomeofthegreatestworkwas
doneunderunfavorableconditions.Whatmostpeoplebelieveisthe
bestworkingconditionsforthemisseldom,ifever,true.Inmy
opiniontheInstituteforAdvancedStudyinPrincetonhasruinedmore
goodpeoplethanithashelped.Youhaveonlytojudgetheirwork
beforetheywereappointedandafterwardstocometothisconclusion.
Thereareexceptions,tobesure,butontheaveragethesupposed
idealworkingconditionsseemtosterilizepeople.
Anotherobvioustraitofgreatpeopleisthattheydotheirworkinsuch
afashionthatotherscanbuildontopofit.Newtonsaid,"IfIhadseen
fartherthanothersitisbecauseIstoodontheshouldersofgiants."
Toomanypeopleseemtonotwantotherstobuildontopoftheir
workbutrathertheywanttohoardittothemselves.Don'tdothingsin
suchafashionthatnexttimeitmustberepeatedbyyou,orbyothers,
butratherinafashionthatrepresentsasignificantstepforward.
Selling
Imustnowtakeuptheunpleasanttopicofsellingyourideas.Too
manyscientiststhinkthatthisisbeneaththem,thattheworldis
waitingfortheirgreatresults.Intruth,theotherresearchersarebusy
withtheirownwork.Youmustpresentyourresultssothattheywill
stoptheirownworkandlistentoyou.Presentationcomesinthree
forms:publishedpapers,preparedtalks,andimpromptusituations.
Youmustmasterallthreeforms.
Lotsofgoodworkhasbeenlostbecauseofpoorpresentationonlyto
berediscoveredlaterbyothers.Thereisarealdangerthatyouwill
notgetcreditforwhatyouhavedone.Iknowofalltoomanytimes
whenthediscoverercouldnotbebotheredtopresentthingsclearly,
andhencehisorherworkwasofnoimportancetosociety.
Finally,Imustatleastaddressthequestionofwhethergreatnessis
worththelargeeffortitrequires.Thosewhohavedonereallygreat
thingsgenerallyreport,privately,thatitisbetterthanwine,the
oppositesex,andsongputtogether.Therealizationthatyouhave
doneitisoverwhelming.
OfcourseIhaveconsultedonlythosewhodiddogreatthings,and
havenodaredtoaskthosewhodidnot.Perhapstheywouldreply
differently.But,asisoftensaid,itisinthestruggleandnotthe
successthattherealgainappears.Instrivingtodogreatthings,you
changeyourselfintoabetterperson,sotheyclaim.Theactualsuccess
isoflessimportance,sotheysay.AndItendtobelievethistheory.
NooneevertoldmethekindsofthingsIhavejustrelatedtoyou;I
hadtofindthemoutformyself.SinceIhavenowtoldyouhowto
succeed,youhavenoexcusefornottryinganddoinggreatworkin
yourchosenfield.
Abouttheauthor
Dr.RichardHammingisbestknownfortheHammingcode,
HammingdistanceandtheHammingspectralwindowalongwith
numericalmethods.