[You can find many other Edison's quotes here (http://www.thomasedison.com/quotes.html)]
We have been working on a scientific research project during this summer. The outcomes have been good and interesting. In fact, I've started drafting a manuscript already.
But a scientific research paper is a "story" made of several components. There are many basis to cover, and there are a few experiments to rule out some possibilities.
Today I was looking at samples my research assistant prepared. They were samples I was looking forward to analyzing for a while. The cost of the experiment was not cheap, either.
But it appeared to be a failed experiment with technical reason. The signal noise in the background was too high to conclude anything.
In such a case, we recite whatever works for us (including aforementioned Edison's quote), and just start troubleshooting.
Are the experiment and the results important? Yes.
Is it easy to troubleshoot? Likely. There are a few points we can change to fix the technical issue.
Then, we'll just modify the protocol and do it again.
There are bunch of quotes, pep talks, feel good phrases and success principles that you can lift from inspirational speakers, success magazines, or random facebook posts.
They aren't bad. Although I usually don't give a **** about random advice floating around, knowing some phrases that serve me well in the context of my life and work is certainly helpful.
This will not be the last time when our experiment does not immediately provide results. Edison's quote should serve well for me and other scientists today and in the future.
[Thomas Edison, 1922]
