Having done research in both the US and the UK for a number of years, students often ask me what is the difference in terms of academic research in these two countries. What I often answer is that in the US the scientists are very intelligent, however, in the UK scientists are more intellectual.

 

Now, this is probably a grave generalisation, but what I have observed is that in the US scientists have great scientific knowledge and amazing analytical skills, and as a result come up with great research questions. And they proceed to just get them done, by working really hard, not wasting time and being very efficient.

 

In contrast, in the UK scientists seem more intellectual as they tend to entertain ideas and discuss concepts that have no real practical consequences, often at the cost of getting important things done.

 

Again, this is a generalisation. I also don’t think that either of these approaches is better or worse. In fact, I personally feel that both getting things done and discussing ideas can be very rewarding. But I have sometimes wondered what makes someone intellectual. Until I came across a passage in the in the prologue to William Wan’s Through the Valley, which I am currently reading.

 

In the prologue, Gerard Ee writes:

“Most people do not understand the meaning of being intellectual. An expert in a subject may not be an intellectual. I believe that to be an intellectual, one must spend time reflecting on and interpreting events around us.”

 

Whether someone spends time on reflecting and interpreting events can be very easily felt when engaging with them in conversations.

 

I am personally not so keen on having conversations all the time, especially those where you just exchange information. Most of the time I am not really that interested in the type of information that the other person shares and I feel it would be much more meaningful if I read on my own about things I am really interested in. So I feel these type of conversations are not a very efficient use of our time.

 

However, there are people whom I really like to talk to. What makes them different? It is usually because they care about similar things that I do and often have unique information about these things. But in addition to knowing facts, they have thoughts, ideas and opinions about these facts. And their thoughts can provoke me to come up with new ideas, make plans and take actions. These types of conversations where one shares thoughts and ideas can be really productive. But they require that both conversation partners care about the same topic and do have things to share that go beyond factual information.

 

When I talk to students, it is very easy to notice that there are also those who really know a lot, but who never take the time to reflect on their experiences, their goals, their achievements and their failures. And it is really not that much fun to talk to them.

 

On the other hand, there are also those students who evidently spent time thinking and reflecting about all kinds things. One way to tell is whether the student asks any questions. Naturally, you can only ask someone a question, if you first come up with one. And coming up with a question involves actually thinking about a topic that one is interested in, spending time to consider the topic and during this process stumbling across a question that one would like to hear someone else’s input about.

 

Is it important to make time for reflection? I would think so. We are only given so much time in our lives. I feel it is kind of irresponsible to waste all our time with superficial and passive activities. Living a meaningful life does not happen automatically. It can only happen if we spend time reflecting on our past experiences, present lives and future plans.

 

Do you need to make extra time for reflecting and interpreting events and experiences? Yes and No. No, because most of us waste a lot of time with mindless activities of no value, such as … (insert here what applies to you, but obvious examples include viewing of social media profiles and playing mobile games).

 

But sometimes I just want to relax while on the train or when I have free time without thinking about things. (And by relaxing I of course don’t man playing games.) Hence, I find it really important to reserve specific times for reflecting on things.

 

One of the best ways to reflect on things is by writing about your thoughts and ideas in a diary or blog. I also try to write notes about every project I have done and reflect how it went. This allows me to think about what did not go well and eables me to talk about my thoughts. And when you do that, it often happens that the person I am talking to suggests some amazing things, or that in the process I manage to come with new ideas myself.

 

So think about what kind of person, scientist, or student do you want to be? Someone who knows a lot or someone who has opinions and ideas. I hope the latter. Having opinions and ideas and ultimately turning them into action is what makes life worth living.