An unlikely connection between science and travel

This blog will require a bit of a leap of faith to understand how it links to science, but I swear to you it (mostly) fits in with the theme, What Lab Life is Like (WLLL).

Like Merlin in his previous blog post (Reflections on the 21st Biennial Haemoglobin Switching Meeting), I just got back from the Haemoglobin Switching Conference in Oxford, UK. Science is international – and for conferences and networking, especially for specific fields of research, travelling to conferences in the norm. My time at Globin Switching was quickly followed by a whirlwind adventure through Europe. I have never been to Europe before, but having heard about the ~24-hour flight, I knew I needed to make the most of the opportunity. And so, Lana and I packed our backpacks and explored through some of the cities on our bucket list. Featured here are some photos from my new series: Taking photos of Lana taking photos of Europe.

I bet you’re now wondering how this links with the theme. To explain, I want to take you back to when I was in Year 10 and choosing my classes for my senior year. I had bulked up most of my units with things I knew I’d need (i.e. English, Mathematics, Biology, etc.) but needed to pick more subjects. My dad used to always say that I should do physics, not only because I enjoyed it – but because of the way the subject teaches you to think. I was given examples of all kinds of jobs that come out of a physics degree – analytics, modelling, banking or even physics research itself. After physics, I knew this to be true. You learn to see the different facets of things in a way that I found to be invaluable. It’s not only the famous ‘why is it so’ (Started from the bottom now we’re here), but HOW.

As a side note: Dad also enjoyed telling everyone after this that I studied physics at university, despite me being enrolled as a Molecular Genetics major. On one memorable occasion, he even told the legendary Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki that he was very proud that his daughter was studying physics for which I was congratulated. Interestingly, my dad has very recently retired and is now studying physics himself – funny how these things work out!

Getting back to travelling and science – I’d like to remind you of a recent movement to show people that scientists are in fact real live human beings, not cyborgs who survive only off fumes from the lab and never see the sunlight. Research teaches you a lot about being human. It’s not all lessons about learning how to fail (Your mistakes sometimes disappear) or how to be better in your field specifically; it helps to develop your life skills.

Like physics, doing research has taught me how to think. Lana and I planned out only the bare necessities – roof over our heads and transport, but we did this in less than a day all up. Who here has travelled with about as many plans as – fly there, get some sort of transport to hostel, stay, get back on plane and go somewhere else? Planning requires decisive action. Train or bus, can we walk with 20kg packs for 10 minutes through this city, will these coins get us to our destination? I try to teach my students to be decisive. Trust in your instincts. If in doubt, ask where you can – but the overall lesson is to decide the best course of action with the information you have – then do it. One of most valuable lessons I’ve learnt during my PhD is to have some faith in yourself – try some confidence! It’s not about not messing up. It’s about trusting yourself to know how to fix it. There’s a great quote by Harvey Specter in the American legal drama Suits, about your choices if someone puts a gun to your head, “you take the gun, or you pull out a bigger one. Or, you call their bluff. Or, you do any one of a hundred and forty six other things.” Dear Mum and Dad, please note I did not get held up at gunpoint whilst overseas. I promise.

Speaking of risky business… Travelling somewhere new also carries with it a lot of risk. In a new city, my main concern is safety. When travelling, the advice I’ve always received is to be alert and attentive to detail to ensure the safety of you and your fellow travelers. Even Sydney (home) is not always safe, everywhere, and I didn’t exactly travel in a war zone, but I know the dangerous parts of the city of Sydney. I don’t know what alleys avoid in the middle of London. For example, even in Paris, the city of love and light, there can still be pickpockets. Overall, staying safe goes hand in hand with staying focused. I was amazed at how much my observational skills have developed over time, which I attribute not only to my growing thoughtfulness (i.e. growing older) but also my work in the lab.

A keen eye doesn’t miss anything. It was mostly about assessing a situation in a glance and trying to take in as much as you can. Finding where we needed to go was easy. Finding places we shouldn’t be… well, we survived without any drama. When we went through the Natural History Museum in London, I went through a memory test that simulated a woman’s bag being stolen at gunpoint. It served to teach me that memory isn’t perfect, but if you’re focusing it’s amazing how much you can pick up.

Travelling around also reminded me a lot of performing an experiment. First you need your materials – directions, reviews for where to go and when, what currency do you need and how much. Planning these things was fun, and a bit like a day job. You don’t walk into the lab for a new experiment with nothing but enclosed shoes and a dream. We had lists of things we wanted to see and how to get there. We had maps. We started every country with a walking tour. Information (just like in the case of my students) is the key to success.

Who knows… maybe in doing these things, we learn to be better scientists. I swear I will not write a blog on that one, although I might try to argue in lab meeting that we need a lab retreat to become better scientists.

Now, I’m not saying you need an Honours degree and a background in physics to travel overseas. Many have done it before me. Many will do it after me. It’s just nice to reflect back on how many ways science (and later research) has changed my brain and my experiences for the better. But hey, I daresay we’re always recruiting the best and brightest to science – albeit Molecular biology… the harder science.

Elizabeth Stout (@ethbey) is a PhD candidate. This story was published on November 2, 2018, on the Crossley Lab Blog (available here), and has been republished here with permission.