Did you ever wonder where all those “a study says…” come from?
We heard often in the news, on the radio, or on social media, articles saying — “a new study found…” or “scientists have discovered…”
Those words are magic. We automatically trust whatever comes after because the best tool that humans have to understand nature is through science.
Science is amazing. Science is fun, but at the same time, it is extremely complex.
That is why it is important to understand how science works. To have a critical view that allows us to distinguish between information and noise.
I am going to confess to you one thing — I have been working as a scientist for more than 8 years, and scientific work is wearisome.
Do not misinterpret my words. I love to work in science, but scientific work is a trial-error process, exhausting, and often not successful.
Why, then,
Why I propose you to read science like a scientist?
Like everything in life, there is a right time for each thing.
When you are new to a subject and you only want to know what is it about, the worst thing you can do is to read a “paper” (that is how actually scientists call scientific studies), because you will not understand anything. There are better ways to start to navigate a new topic.
However, when you want to deep dive into a specific subject, the basic texts are not enough. Sometimes, for example, after reading several blog posts, Wikipedia articles, or maybe even a youtube video, you reach that point where you realize you know more about the subject than what you find in those texts.
It depends on how seriously you take the topic.
What if…
- you are trying to create something new, with the latest technologies?
- you want to become a reference author in your niche?
- you have to write an essay (a piece of work) and show novelty?
- you are interested in a narrow topic that is not mainstream, and it is very difficult to find information about?
In this blog, I want to explain to you what are the best sources for all the levels of involvement in a scientific/technical topic. From where to start in a new topic to when it is advisable to go a step further and create your own scientific library.
You will be surprised, how often build your own scientific library could be useful.
Tell us
What topic would you like to read on a scientific level?
Let us your response in the comments and I will recommend you where to start.
