At this year’s Cambridge Networks Day we were treated to a session on the challenges scientists have in carrying out research, and the pressures of writing papers, and making breakthrough discoveries by Professor Uri Alon. The session resonated with everybody. How we carry out research and create those conditions, which help us to generate new ideas, is a subject, which requires great sensitivity and study. Inspiration in how we tackle difficult research questions is not achieved through some rigid mechanical process but as Uri highlighted, involves many different aspects of human psychology, ranging from the emotional to the rational.
Uri has sparked a very important discussion, which is motivated by his own personal experiences, experiences, which many of us no doubt share.
While studying for his PhD in physics, Uri Alon thought he was a failure because all his research paths led to dead ends. But, with the help of improv theater, he came to realize that there could be joy in getting lost. A call for scientists to stop thinking of research as a direct line from question to answer, but as something more creative. (TED)
It was an inspiring discussion, and you can watch Uri talk about his experiences on TED, and how he overcame his sense of failure to become an innovative scientist.
The event also featured the following talks:
- Evolutionary tradeoffs and the geometry of biological phenotype space by Uri Alon
- Temporal networks of human interaction by Petter Holme
- Dynamic adaptation of complex networks to changes of their environment by Peter Csermely
- Shadow Networks: Discovering Hidden Nodes With Models of Information Flow by James Bagrow
- Fast functional rewiring of large biological networks by Francseco Iorio
- Computational Urban “Science” by Daniele Quercia
Daniele Quercia also treated us to an amazing talk about the application of the computational sciences to urban planning and design. The emergence of computational social science as a new research area promises much. Daniele’s work involves replicating 1970s social science experiments computationally. This has lead to generating mapping tools that seek to not only find the shortest routes but also the most aesthetically enjoyable routes. Danielle’s talk addressed the question of how we can capture smellscapes and soundscapes of entire cities using social media. His talk showed how we are only limited by our imagination! You can get an idea of his research from a talk he gave at TED.
I look forward to next year!
