Nobel laureate got D in Chemistry class

I have stopped reading the newspaper for a few weeks now, quite regretfully. I wish I could start again, but I seem to have started enjoying the freedom of not being drawn to a stack of papers. But I am being disconnected from the world.

A newspaper article from The Straits Times May 10 2008 from Science section captivated me and I have kept the article with me till now.

Why?

"Would people have said I'd achieve anything? Probably not. Singapore has to take a few chances on young people who may not fit the cookie-cutter mould. 

For those who want to achieve something unique, you need to be in the right place at the right time and your eyes have to be wide open."

This speaks a lot to me, because I'm very far from the cookie-cutter mould.

I guess that's why God speaks so much to me. Because He uses people who are so unusable to the world. :) The moment I think I'm usable, I lose my usefulness. Humility's the key!! :)

 

I really really love dedication pages! Just last week I saw a dedication that goes: For Elsie, "Botanist by Marriage" and my heart just melted. That's love - loving what the person one loves loves. :)

Today, as I flip "Fundamentals of Plant Systematics" by Albert E. Radford, I see some very heartening words again.

"Systematics, as a natural science, is a continuing quest for truth and understanding as well as the never-ending pursuit of reality, organized and simplified.

James Bruce, a British diplomat, once stated that "to most people nothing is more troublesome than the effort of thinking." This text is dedicated to those students willing to make that troublesome effort."

Didn't your heart just melted? It is so true for me. Thinking takes up a lot of effort. I am often lazy to do it. But the rewards one would reap from thinking are plentiful and I hope to think more. :)

Strangely this book though Prof. recommended it, only has one edition till this day (from 1986). Is it because Systematics really is a dying trade?