New Series: Why We Became Scientists

Michael Mann

Michael Mann

Working with scientists for over a decade has taught me one thing: they are an interesting and varied bunch. Fiercely dedicated to their chosen career, love what they do, very enthusiastic when given half a chance to talk about their research, and very inquisitive. They perk up when somewhere a scientist says “huh, that’s funny.” After all, this often means there’s something new and exciting that they can dig into.

This showed when John, Peter and I interviewed scientists in San Francisco in December of last year. All were very enthusiastic to talk about what they do and took time out of their busy schedule for us. During the interviews John Cook had the idea to ask each scientist the following question:

What inspired you to become a scientist?

Of course I expected the answer that they love science and had an interest in it from a young age. But it’s the journey that lead to them being a scientist that’s often filled with interesting choices and anecdotes. It’s this last part that really made it fun to hear their answers.

The first scientist who’s sharing his story with us is climatologist and geophysicist Michael Mann:

This was just the first video in the video series Why We Became Scientists of which I’m going to release more videos the coming months. I already have over 20 scientists who answered this question, but I’m going to ask this question to more scientists.

So who would you like to see next in this series?

Collin Maessen is the founder and editor of Real Skeptic and a proponent of scientific skepticism. For his content he uses the most up to date and best research as possible. Where necessary consulting or collaborating with scientists.