• Question: are you very independent or are you more of a team person

    Asked by to Aimee, Chris, Dave, Greig, Laurence on 14 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Laurence Perreault Levasseur

      Laurence Perreault Levasseur answered on 14 Jun 2014:

      I think a bit of both. I really like working with people and brainstorming, bouncing around ideas, figuring out the right way to think about a problem by discussing with people. Sometimes I get really confused about really trivial things, and then getting the help of someone helps a lot solving my problems faster! Some other times, I really need to sit down and do a calculation to understand what is going on, or think deeply to digest some new information. Those times I really need to be as isolated as possible!

    • Photo: Aimee Hopper

      Aimee Hopper answered on 15 Jun 2014:

      I believe I am more of a team person. I like being able to discuss ideas, bounce them around for a bit and come to a joint decision about what to do next.
      That said, it’s important to then be able to go off and work on what I specifically need to do, so independant thought and working is required there.

    • Photo: Greig Cowan

      Greig Cowan answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      I think I am a bit of both. I work in a large experimental collaboration with about 900 other scientists, so you need to be a team player in order for everyone to work effectively together. Often one person will have a good idea for solving a problem but then by working together we can refine it to make it even better. However, sometimes you do need to isolate yourself for a short time to really get to grips with a problem. Once you understand it (or think you understand it!) then you can present it to your team and get their feedback. I think to be a successful scientist you really need to be both.

    • Photo: Dave Jones

      Dave Jones answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      I think to be a scientist, you really have to be both. Often we have to work in really big teams to be able to do an experiment just because the whole thing is sooooo big one person wouldn’t be able to do it. But, then, at the same time you have to be able to work on your piece of the jigsaw on your own, without needing to rely on someone else otherwise it would probably be quicker and easier for someone else! So, I think most of us scientists are a mix of the two because we have to work together, otherwise we wouldn’t achieve anything, but also we have to work alone to make sure we do our part quickly and get it ready to contribute along with what everyone else has done.

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