Day 39 - Scoop

Trust your instincts.

So today is the second day, second week of my research attachment at the National Metrology Center. It was another typical day, having a warm exterior but cloudy inside. Research went fine, too, we started to actually utilize the Oscilloscope to study the wavelengths and phase noises of the laser beams detectable due to interference, while trying to utilize Fourier transformation to actually acquire proper data. (okay I really have to stop using technical terms..) The device was enigmatic. I couldn't understand what was on display, and how I was supposed to interpret the data. It was after lunch, and my mentor suddenly announced that she has to attend a meeting for the next three hours.

Seeking a refuge from the bombardment of esoteric knowledge, I decided to ask if I would be allowed to attend the meeting. She was momentarily perplexed, but she gave her consent. The meeting was the best thing ever.

Yes, yes. The contents they went through bore no relevance whatsoever to me. Notwithstanding, I paid full attention, laughed whenever they joked, and asked questions. In between breaks, I talked to people. I smiled, asked questions, they gave me insights. I was told to utilize whatever opportunity I have as an 'intern', and that leading an academic life is surprisingly satisfying. After the respite, I attended a 2 days worth of property rights crash course condensed into two hours.

The stories brought forward remind me that business is an inevitable part of science, and politics is an inevitable part of business. The talk was intellectually satisfying. I forgot whatever I was facing with, and was entertained by epic tales of how firms buy technologies to maintain power by censoring scientists and how the agency organization had some patents issues with Japanese companies but issued the licenses to the local companies nonetheless.

I learned to be driven. To be observant. To be able to communicate well. To have a purpose. To be creative. (a scientist can invent anything by theory. creativity is required in its application, to give the technology a value.)

How do you communicate well? Through action-packed information. The information you convey must be executable, giving value to it. For example, citing the lecturer, a scientist may tell his boss that the European market is crumbling. This information is of little significance. Instead, he must tell his boss that since the market is collapsing, the boss must quickly approve his projects and sell it to the European buyers before the decline in demand ensues. Fantastic, sold.

The lecture ended, and I went back to the laboratory, analyzing sinusoidal waves that oscillated and permeated gleefully through the liquid crystal display, as if mocking my somber craving of a particular woman. And the research continues...

Forever yours truly,