Scientists and their emotions
Science is not a matter of pure logic. Some of the best scientists lived through intense emotions—it shaped their lifes. Here are a few quotes:
- Ludwig Boltzman (invented entropy): When he could not reach the standards he set for himself, he would be overcome by feelings of fear, suffering and depression. He killed himself on 5 September 1906.
- Wallace Carothers: Despite his success with Nylon, he felt that he had not accomplished much, he checked into a Philadelphia hotel room and died after drinking a cocktail of lemon juice laced with potassium cyanide.
- Rudolf Diesel: His family says that Diesel committed suicide because his invention was stolen. A cross in his journal on the date he died was an indicator of suicide.
Related posts: Research productivity: some paths less travelled and Emotions killing your intellectual productivity.
Update: Don’t worry about my own state of mind. I’m not depressed right now, but I am interested in how our emotions shape our research and our faculty to innovate.
Montreal, Canada 
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Daniel,
I recently heard about the so-called “impostor syndrome”, which apparently is (relatively) common among creative people (including academics).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome
The anecdotes you report sound a bit like that. It certainly looks like it is generating strong emotions!
Comment by Cyril — 19/8/2009 @ 16:41
Perhaps this has something to do with their families’ expectations of them?
I know that the parents of some of my friends always kept pushing them in their childhood. Perhaps this instills low self-esteem in a person when they grow up.
Comment by Ragib Hasan — 19/8/2009 @ 17:53