Ten Simple Rules for Doing Your Best Research, According to Hamming -Part 1

by Thomas C. Erren*, Paul Cullen, Michael Erren, Philip E. Bourne

PLoS Computational Biology October 2007 | Volume 3 | Issue 10 | e213

The thoughts presented are not our own; rather, we condense and annotate some excellent and timeless suggestions made by the mathematician Richard Hamming two decades ago on how to do ‘‘first-class research’’ [8]. As far as we know, the transcript of the Bell Communications Research Colloquium Seminar provided by Dr. Kaiser [8] was never formally published, so that Dr. Hamming’s thoughts are not as widely known as they deserve to be.

Rule 1: Drop Modesty
To quote Hamming: ‘‘Say to yourself:‘Yes, I would like to do first-class work.’Our society frowns on people who set out to do really good work. But you should say to yourself: ‘Yes, I would like to do something significant.’’’

Rule 2: Prepare Your Mind
Many think that great science is the result of good luck, but luck is nothing but the marriage of opportunity and preparation. Hamming cites Pasteur’s adage that ‘‘luck favours the prepared mind.’’

Rule 3: Age Is Important
Einstein did things very early, and all the ‘‘quantum mechanic fellows,’’ as well as most mathematicians and astrophysicists, were, as Hamming notes, ‘‘disgustingly young’’ when they did their best work. On the other hand, in the fields of music, politics, and literature, the protagonists often produce what we consider their best work late in life.

Rule 4: Brains Are Not Enough, You Also Need Courage
Great scientists have more than just brainpower. To again cite Hamming: ‘‘Once you get your courage up and believe that you can do important things, then you can. If you think you can’t, almost surely you are not going to. Great scientists will go forward under incredible circumstances; they think and continue to think.’’

Rule 5: Make the Best of Your Working Conditions
To paraphrase Hamming, what most people think are the best working conditions clearly are not, because people are often most productive when working conditions are bad. One of the better times of the Cambridge Physical Laboratories was when they worked practically in shacks—they did some of the best physics ever. By turning the problem around a bit, great scientists often transform an apparent defect into an asset. ‘‘It is a poor workman who blames his tools—the good man gets on with the job, given what he’s got, and gets the best answer he can.’’