Frequently, there is nothing scientific about science. There seems to be no rhyme or reason why a reaction works one day while its identical twin fails the next, or why two people can execute the same protocol only to have one work and one flop. There is no clear rule, no absolute guideline to follow to success in bench work. I believe there are forces beyond our control behind every experiment. I believe in magic.
I think a little magic happens every time an assay works the way it is meant to. I can’t control this magic nor direct it where it is most needed. All I can do is observe and repeat exactly what I did the time my experiment worked and cross my fingers that it works again. If I was wearing red shoes then, you can be sure that I will have the same shoes on when it comes time for the repeat, no questions asked.
A saying that I have heard many times can support the beyond-my-control theory: good hands. As in, “He/she is good with ideas but is a terror on the bench – doesn’t have the hands”. Obviously, the poor person has hands. What he/she is lacking may be the fairy dust, luck, and copious amounts of superstition required for the successful execution of an experiment.
Crystallographers may be the worst of the lot when it comes to superstition. There is a great deal of chance and luck involved in getting crystals to grow; people will do just about anything to help the process along. I knew a grad student crystallographer who had little lucky charms (troll dolls and such) lined up on his bench to increase his chances of success. Clearly, he knew what he was doing since he has since graduated.
One day, I hope to harness the power of magic and make it work for me and for my experiments. Till then, I am keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed at all times.
Now that I think about it, I don’t need to bother finishing my most recent Western. I am almost certain that I forgot to touch my shoe seven times before loading the gel. I think I’ll just go home.
I didn’t know the “good hands” theory is a universal one!
Haha I totally know what you mean! I think that element of luck being “here today, gone tomorrow” is probably one of the most frustrating aspects of lab life, and yet when it works in your favor it can bring you so much delight. Isn’t it one of those “lab myths” that many major discoveries happened when somebody used the wrong solution or forgot an ingredient? Maybe it was magic…
Nature did a fun story a little while ago about all the good luck charms scientists kept in the lab. Little toys, figurines, souvenirs. I keep two finger puppets by my computer. I’ve had them since high school for good luck.
Smitha – It is definitely universal, in my experience anyway. I am still evaluating my hands. Really wish I knew just how much fairy dust I have!
Paula – If that particular lab myth were true, I would have won a Nobel by now. That’s all I can say about that.
Corie – Your puppets are working well for you! I have a little green glass worry stone that has “Luck” written on it. I have almost rubbed all the Luck off! I am very attached to it. It got me through my qualifying exam.
I am less a believer in the ability of a juju to make an experiment work (as if it were an effector) than to do away with something that keeps it from working (an inhibitor of an inhibitor to be nerdy). I think that lab magic serves a single purpose: to ward off gremlins. Science, after all, should describe the way that the universe works – a process governed by universal physical laws that cannot be circumvented. That said, it can certainly be messed with and gremlins are the things that do the messing. Nasty things. Lucky charms (the objects, not the breakfast cereal) are like water on cesium to a gremlin.
Electrophysiologists can be bad too. I heard tell of one prof who used to have to do patch-clamping in his socks…no shoes at the rig! I have a small wee chicken and a magnetic monkey attached to my set-up. Not working too well so I’m on the look out for soe good juju at the moment!
Growing crystals is a complicated job and may justify to an extent the need for ‘lucky charms’ but how about running a plain and simple SDS-PAGE ? Failed to reproduce the result with my setup 13 times. Then went to a temple, put the flowers I brought from the temple on the workbench and voila!!! The gel profile came out perfect…...
incidentally, what will one coin someone who is good with his/her hands but lacks ideas?? sad to admit, i am one of those… hmm i don’t own any lucky charms. maybe that’s the reason why i’m having a traffic jam in the upper storey…