Philosophy scientists can use Part VI: Always doing what you've done

Welcome to the sixth post in our series about aphorisms which scientists can use. If you missed the introduction to this series we recommend you check it out. This week we are discussing the phrase:

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you have always gotten”

As mentioned in previous articles the ability to come up with a creative solution to a problem and think outside of the box can be a crucial skill for a scientist. To achieve this we often need to be very critical and question everything we do. That is the message behind this week’s aphorism; to achieve something new we have to try something different and change the way things are done, ideally for the better. This insight is not only how scientists drive their field forward but also how individuals and society can progress; by questioning how things are and how they could be better. In fact, that is the aim of this series; to question if we can use old knowledge to help us improve.

As usual we have to highlight the origin of this aphorism, however this time it starts with a question – what do Henry Ford and Albert Einstein have in common? The answer - they have both been referenced as the creators of this phrase. While both suggestions make sense; Ford was responsible for revolutionary changes in the automotive industry and Einstein brought about some incredible progress in theoretical physics, there is no actual evidence supporting these claims. If either of these men were the origin of this saying it should have originated in the early to mid-1900’s when these men were alive. In fact the earliest reliable reference can only be be found in the 1980’s. In 1981 The Milwaukee Sentinel, a local journal, makes reference to Jessie Potter; a speaker who gave the opening talk at the seventh annual Woman to Woman conference. From this point on there are a string of similar sources throughout the 80’s, all with various degrees of credibility, each claiming a new individual as the source. Then, skipping ahead in time, around the turn of the decade in 2010 the aphorism increased in popularity and it became common to attribute it to Ford or Einstein, as well as the motivational speaker Tony Robbins. As with last weeks aphorism it is evident that there is some uncertainty when we try to find the original source; despite being one of the most recent it is the most misattributed aphorism we have discussed so far.

Despite the allegedly famous origins of this aphorism you don’t have to compare yourself to these historical figures to apply this aphorisms wisdom to your life. The key aim is to do a little self-reflection, and ask if what you’re doing is not only right for you abut is the best way to do it. Hopefully asking yourself these questions will teach you some wisdom, specifically wisdom which can help you:

Try to break bad habits
The majority of us have an idea of what our ideal selves would be like. Maybe you want to be has honourable as Captain America or unlock all the potential of your brain (e.g. plot of Limitless and Lucy). In either case, until there are some truly ludicrous developments in technology we don’t have access to super serum or genius drugs which will make us our best selves overnight. This means we have to take the traditional route; building good habits to improve sustainably over time. Breaking bad habits can be hard, and at some point we’ll post about the science behind it. For instance, personally I know I can be lazy when it comes to maintaining a lab book. This is something I have always struggled with and unsurprisingly when I have it checked by a supervisor I waste a full day catching up panicking about the quality. To try and fight this habit I schedule specific uninterrupted time, usually in isolation, once a week then reward myself with a guilty pleasure, usually something food based. If you’re not sure which bad habits you’ve been stuck repeating ask yourself is this helping me get closer to the person I want to be or am I just getting in my own way? If you don’t like the answer then it may be time to try something new.

Learn by trial and error
As we mentioned a few weeks ago persistence is an incredible characteristic, but the line between persistence and blind stubbornness is thin. Sometimes things aren’t going to work the first time, the second time or even the hundredth time you try them. When this happens you might need accept that, unless something changes, you’re just succumbing to the definition of insanity. If you’ve been doing an experiment and the results aren’t matching your hypothesis you might need to change your hypothesis or change the tools you’re using. If you have been trying to break a bad habit and keep making the same mistakes each time maybe it’s time to change your approach. We all make mistakes and head down blind alleys and go on wild goose chases but if you keep repeating the same mistakes you’re never going to make progress. Instead you need to look at each mistake as a learning experience. As a scientist it’s your job to try something, see if it works and learn from it. You can’t think of it as failure and you can’t take it personally, just remember that you’re learning and improving each time this happens.

Seek out new experiences
Millennials have received criticism in recent years for placing too much emphasis on “experiences.” I’m not here to argue the pros and cons of ownership vs experience; regardless of your stand point it is hard to argue that humans don’t rely on new experiences to learn and develop. If you want to learn a new technique or study a new area of research you’re going to have to learn by doing. This means it’s up to you to seek out the knowledge that you need; seek out those who know more or find the resources you need to get the understanding you want. If you stay where you are and refuse to learn anything you can only approach problems with what you already know so nothing will change. Instead seek out new experiences which will give you valuable knowledge that you can carry forward; so that the next time you encounter a problem you can apply that new knowledge and use it to fuel creative solutions.

 Hopefully this aphorism has provided some insight that you can start applying in your daily life. If you can think of any more reasons that this aphorism could be useful to a scientists let us know on twitter.