Science isn't nearly as honest as music is. Yes, neither are monolithic. I no more study science now than I studied music almost decade ago. Even so, my experiences with each are deep enough to justify some simple comparisons.
In neither, is the most esteemed pathway- making a significant new discovery or being a rock star- likely to happen.
Music provides alternatives to being a rock star that are based on skill. Becoming a rock star almost always comes down to luck. But, you can be a studio musician. You can train in classical or jazz music. Years of practice can develop artistic talent into the ability to bend sound into an expression of yourself.
The best musician got ahead often enough for it to be a rule of thumb that the best way to make it as a musician was to develop your hands and mind as a musician.
How science determines its losers and runners-up seems arbitrary. I don't know what all other budding scientists do at night. Some are in the lab. Others aren't and I've seen no emerging trend that those who work the hardest make it. It's not clear who will succeed or why.
Science has a new crop of believers every year and so it can counter unstable practices with access to new markets and specious war stories.
In neither, is the most esteemed pathway- making a significant new discovery or being a rock star- likely to happen.
Music provides alternatives to being a rock star that are based on skill. Becoming a rock star almost always comes down to luck. But, you can be a studio musician. You can train in classical or jazz music. Years of practice can develop artistic talent into the ability to bend sound into an expression of yourself.
The best musician got ahead often enough for it to be a rule of thumb that the best way to make it as a musician was to develop your hands and mind as a musician.
How science determines its losers and runners-up seems arbitrary. I don't know what all other budding scientists do at night. Some are in the lab. Others aren't and I've seen no emerging trend that those who work the hardest make it. It's not clear who will succeed or why.
Science has a new crop of believers every year and so it can counter unstable practices with access to new markets and specious war stories.
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