, 1 min read
Gardening and research
I love gardening. I love research.
These activities are analogous:
| Gardening | Research |
|---|---|
| Biodiversity minimizes the impact of diseases and pests. | A multidisciplinary or broad research program is more resilient against systemic failures. |
| Plants grow according to their own rythms. You can rush a plant with fertilizers, but the plant will become fragile and short-lived. (Example: using fertilizers with a coreopsis is a bad idea.) If you want quick results, pick the plant accordingly. | Some research programs take years to unfold and bear fruits. In such cases, telling people to publish more will only generate weak and forgettable papers. |
| Gardening requires regularity. You cannot easily do all of your gardening one day a week. | Working almost daily is the best way to push your research program forward. Systematically rushing prior to the deadlines will only work if you have frequent deadlines. |