Advice To A Young Scientist (Sloan Foundation Science Series).
This has to be one of the most practical books ever written to date. Like the title says, Advice To A Young Scientist is precisely about that: It’s a book made to be used as a guide, as an example for those who are pursuing a career revolving around science and research.
The book is a fresh breath of air into a very closed, very mythical community like the science one. Author Peter Medawar, a Nobel prize laureate, breaks down the idea scientists are these perfect, superior beings who know everything about the world and brings out a much humble, down to earth way to see them.
Peter Medawar helps young people pursuing a science career by giving them incredibly helpful advice about topics such as: How to write a proper research paper, how to find a good enough topic, how to treat your older colleagues and every practical thing about the science world nobody ever told you in college.
He manages to take down the mask of superiority the science community seems to have by merely stating it is all about having a curious mind and the will enough to look for the answers to your questions, and of course having a bit of common sense.
This book can be taken as a reliable guide for various things. Not only to know how to manage yourself in this field, but especially to know just how you can write a fantastic piece of scientific research, and how to overcome all the challenges people don’t often see about doing such paper.
Through the very first part of the book, the author will treat you as if you are a new student, explaining you the basics on how to do fantastic research and turn it into something worth reading, that gives back something to the community. And you better trust his words, he won a Nobel Prize for Medicine back in the ’60s.
The second half of the books centre more around the scientific method, what it is, how to use, and how to implement it in your works. There are many incredibly useful advice from page one to the very end you can’t just miss; they are pure gold.
Although the book is called Advice To A Young Scientist, the truth is this book can be extremely beneficial for anyone embarking on the great quest to writing a research paper. All the fantastic advice, and the way Peter Medawar writes, will make you want to start writing right now, it is that incredibly good.