In Conversation With - Dr. James Riding
Recently, I have had the good luck to converse with several scientists with varying levels of enthusiasm and experience. I have found it quite enjoyable to discuss concepts, methods and approaches in their own disciplines, as well as general tenets spanning all across Science. Here is a conversation with geologist, micropaleontologist and dinoflagellate expert, Dr. James Riding.
Q. What would you advise to someone who wants to enter Science?
A. I'd advise students to choose their subject areas very carefully. They should choose something they enjoy doing, that they'd be happy doing for a long time, all their life in fact. They should choose something they feel enthusiastic about. They should also keep the practicalities in mind. For example, if the discipline is largely lab-based or field-based, do they like this aspect of it? They should be prepared to work hard, because it takes a lot of determination to make an impact in Science.
It isn't a real word, but the British have a concept of "stickability". A student should be prepared to stick to one area for a significant amount of time. He/she should choose an advisor carefully, someone they can get along with. It is also important to be happy geographically, to consider the work environment and the colleagues. Would they be nice people to work with?
Q. Moving forward from entering Science to actually working in it, what according to you is good Science?
A. Precise. One must strive for precision. Every discipline of Science has a degree of uncertainty associated with it, an experimental error for example. It is important to define this degree of uncertainty. For example, if one is talking of an animal that is 1 m long on average, one should also specify that it can be 0.8 m to 1.2 m long.
One should communicate if the experiment does not solve the complete problem, but if it is a step in the right direction. (Seconded!)
(I mentioned a quote from Dr. Martin Brasier's Darwin's Lost World: "Bad science consists of ideas so vaguely formed that they can only be weakly tested, or of ideas that cannot be tested at all".) I agree with Brasier, vagueness is certainly bad.
Do not be afraid to take risks. If you have a breakthrough, be confident in your work.
Q. A subtle difference to the previous question, what makes a good scientist?
A. A good scientist is perceptive, he sees a problem that needs solving and knows how to go about it. A good scientist needs to also be creative. Creativity is not the sole preserve of the Arts. It's very important in Science too. For example, in the simple procedure of writing for funding too, a good scientist employs creativity to communicate the importance of his research. Apart from these, there is always the prime importance of good scientific method, and being prepared to work hard.
Q. Let's talk of Geology next. What makes a good geologist?
A. To be a good geologist, try and obtain a good all-round education in the subject. Try not to specialize while graduation, but do courses all across Geology. You should have an introduction to the whole lot of courses, and expose yourself to a broad range of knowledge. You only do your Bachelor's once after all. For example, you might not dream that you like Structural Geology until you've attended a course in it.
Q. Again, moving on from being a good student of Geology to a good geologist..
A. Don't be closed to working in new areas. For example, if you're working in Paleontology, don't say no to mapping, or no to Sedimentology. Don't say, "I can't do that". Be prepared to move in other directions. It's good to be a specialist, but one should also keep an eye across the whole subject. For example, if you were an expert on graptolites in the times Plate Tectonics was being discovered, it would be highly detrimental to not be aware of big things happening in Geology and not be able to relate to them. One should notice all developments. So yes, to summarize, I'd say, don't be too specialized.
Q. What made you a palynologist?
A. I always liked Paleontology, even in school. (To which, I expressed amazement that he'd been exposed to Geology in school!) I had about 2 years of Geology in school and I knew I liked fossils. I went on to study Geology in University as well, and was fascinated by the use of microscopy to study microfossils. All groups of microfossils look good under the microscope, but I was particularly intrigued by palynomorphs. They're so abundant and small. (I asked if that wasn't true for all microfossils?) Compared to ostracods and foraminifera, you can't see much of palynomorphs in a slide. The slide only looks slightly dusty perhaps, but once you place it under the microscope, you see a whole other world thriving in there.
Q. If you had to tell a layman one interesting fact about dinoflagellates, what would it be?
A. Dinoflagellates, along with nannofossils, are the organisms that transform sunlight to energy and form the base of the food chain in today's seas. Most of the photosynthesis on our planet goes on in the oceans and not on the land.
But it's ironic that some species can also be toxic, and carry small concentrations of poison. If they reproduce very effectively, they can cause red tides. These are basically high concentrations of dinoflagellates. They're called red tides because of the pigments that dinoflagellates contain, but they can also be yellow or orange. If a toxic dinoflagellate species flourishes in a red tide, it can kill fish and other marine biota. If humans eat molluscs or crustaceans exposed to such a red tide, they can be poisoned and can die too.
But it's ironic that some species can also be toxic, and carry small concentrations of poison. If they reproduce very effectively, they can cause red tides. These are basically high concentrations of dinoflagellates. They're called red tides because of the pigments that dinoflagellates contain, but they can also be yellow or orange. If a toxic dinoflagellate species flourishes in a red tide, it can kill fish and other marine biota. If humans eat molluscs or crustaceans exposed to such a red tide, they can be poisoned and can die too.
So dinoflagellates can be both very important and very dangerous.
Q. How has your experience at BSIP been?
A. I think BSIP is an institute that is using resources really well, be it the building, the equipment etc. It's the only paleobotanical institute in the whole world, and it's really quite unique. I like it here. We have some great institutes in Britain, like the Natural History Museum, but they are generic. There is no institute dedicated solely to paleobotany. The history and the heritage at Lucknow is also great. (I asked if he had some suggestions for the scientists at BSIP.) Perhaps you could have more people working on dinoflagellates, or marine palynomorphs, or aquatic palynology.
Thank you Dr. Riding for your time. :)
Psst...like such posts?
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