Unequaled Joys of Scientific Discovery
“As we have already noted, the joyful emotion associated with the act of discovery is so great that it is easy to understand the sublime madness of Archimedes. Historians tell us that he was so beside himself after solving a profound problem that he burst forth almost naked from his house exclaiming the famous Eureka, ‘I have found it!’
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“This indescribable pleasure–which pales the rest of life’s joys–is abundant compensation for the investigator who endures the painful and persevering analytical work that precedes the appearance of the new truth, like the pain of childbirth. It is true to say that nothing for the scientific scholar is comparable to the things that he has discovered. Indeed, it would be difficult to find an investigator willing to exchange the paternity of a scientific conquest for all the gold on earth. And if there are some who look to science as a way of acquiring gold instead of applause from the learned, and the personal satisfaction associated with the very act of discovery, they have chosen the wrong profession! They should wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to the exercise of industry or commerce instead.” (p. 50)