For this assignment, students will invent a new “disease” typical of contemporary 21st century science and medicine. You will give the disease a name, describe its signs and symptoms, and perhaps suggest a cure in a brief, 500-word essay.
The Implacable
At first glance, the implacable investigator appears to be ambitious and to have great potential for success. Nothing is ever quite good enough, and this investigator is always pushing for more: more experiments, more data, more papers, more, more, and more. The current academic climate is certainly very competitive; there are far more PhD graduates than open faculty positions, and tight budgets at the NIH and similar agencies mean that there are far more grant applications from curious and talented investigators than money to fund the proposed work. This climate forces investigators to be aggressive, to be on the cutting edge of their respective research fields, to prove that they have unique insights and approaches to research questions, hoping to prove their brilliance so that the authorities controlling the purse strings will give them the money to do their essential work. In that sense, ambition and a drive to never settle is necessary for academic success. However, when this ambition and drive tips into obsession, it results in stress and unhappiness for both the investigator and the people around them.
To be on the cutting edge of research, by definition, means trying to answer questions that no one else has solved before. It is incredibly exciting to design and conduct novel experiments. Unlike science laboratory classes where experiments are an exercise in learning the technical procedures, and the outcome is typically known from the outset, true research experiments involve applying known principles or techniques to new questions. This can mean many rounds of failed or inconclusive experiments before finally being able to reach some result. Although one can (and should) delve into the literature to design an experiment with the best chance of success, it is only by actually carrying out the experiment that many pitfalls and hurdles become known. The balanced investigator understands this, while the implacable investigator expects Nature-worthy figures from the first iteration, and grows increasingly impatient and frustrated with every round of troubleshooting. When the implacable investigator is in a supervisory position, this can lead to harsh criticism of the trainee attempting these challenging experiments.
The ambitious investigator often juggles many projects, grant applications, conference lectures, and other responsibilities, which come with the investigator’s growing prominence in the field. This means the investigator must divide their mental resources across many areas. The healthily ambitious investigator recognizes their limitations, delegates where possible, and uses various tools to help them keep track of ongoing work. The implacable investigator hesitates to delegate for fear that a task will not be done up to standard, and tries to do it all. The implacable grows frustrated when they are unable to remember all necessary details, but blames this confusion on subordinates, rather than recognizing their own human limitations.
Treatment for this disease is difficult, because a certain amount of implacability is necessary for success in the current academic climate. It is the extreme form that is unhealthy. Investigators should be mindful of their own limitations, and have patience when troubleshooting. At a certain point it may be necessary to drop a line of investigation or switch gears if it proves unfruitful, and it can be an art to know when that point occurs.