I was struck by Dr. Sheila Patek\u2019s talk about her scientific journey, particularly because she faced a completely unexpected challenge that wasn\u2019t something I previously would have considered a roadblock for scientists: politics.\u00a0 Dr. Patek\u2019s research almost lost funding when it was identified by a senator as something that was an unnecessary use of taxpayer dollars.\u00a0 Dr. Patek researches extreme movement in animals such as mantis shrimp and trap-jaw ants, which admittedly does sound like something that is not immediately necessary to move the field of science forward.\u00a0 However, plenty of scientific research seems to be based on learning more about the world for the sake of learning more about the world, not learning for the sake of advancing technology or saving humanity.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t learning for the sake of learning what science is all about?\u00a0 That\u2019s what I thought before Dr. Patek told us about how her research was challenged for being unnecessary and how she was told that it was not worth the time or money that she poured into it.\u00a0 I never considered that this would be a challenge for a researcher, someone who spends his\/her life learning about the world.<\/p>\n
Dr. Patek\u2019s talk taught me three important lessons that I will remember as I grow as a scientist:<\/p>\n