We're in the kitchen today because I
watch a lot of food videos and cooking tutorials and kitchen
documentaries.
And I've started to realize that the process of making a dish
reminds me a lot of the experimental process.
And the kitchen reminds me a lot of the lab.
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And I don't just watch these shows.
I also really enjoy cooking and baking myself.
And so I've started to notice a lot of parallels
between my moments in the lab and my moments in the kitchen,
and how curiosity plays a role in both.
So today, in collaboration with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt,
Germany's #alwayscurious initiative,
we're going to talk about some of the parallels
that I see between the lab and the kitchen.
Now each endeavor in the lab or the kitchen,
it begins with a recipe or a protocol.
You don't just start wildly throwing ingredients together
in the kitchen.
You find a recipe, and you see what's
worked for people before.
And then you try and make that.
It's the same thing in the lab.
You don't just start wildly trying experiments.
You go and you find a protocol.
You see what's worked for people before.
And then you try it.
Now in both cases, you're likely going
to have to try a few times before you get something right.
I don't think people typically step into the kitchen and make
a perfect soufflé on their first try.
And it's the same thing in the lab.
You often don't get a new experiment
to work out perfectly on the first try.
So you try it, and then you adapt it to your situation,
and then you try it again.
And it's the same thing in the kitchen.
If you make a dish, and it's too salty, you'll note that.
You'll adapt it to have less salt,
and then you'll try it again.
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Now this flexibility and determination
in the face of burnt dinners and failed experiments
is, I think, critical to the experiences of both.
I think that if you're not failing in either place,
you're likely not trying anything
new or innovative or curious.
Sure, you can probably make perfect box mac and cheese
over and over again.
And there's nothing wrong with that.
But are you really trying anything new or innovative
or curious if you don't see what happens if you
add vegetables or hot sauce?
And it's the same thing in the lab.
If you keep doing the same experiment over and over again,
and keep getting the same result,
then you're probably not going to discover anything new.
So you have to keep an open mind and try new things.
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And sometimes this works out really well.
One time in the lab, I was trying
to see what would happen if I amplified a gene in a new way.
And it was great.
It turned into a new assay that I
could use to test how well my future experiments were
working.
But sometimes it doesn't work out so well.
College-aged curiosity about what
a wasabi flavored buttercream would taste like
led to some inedible cupcakes.
Now that process of adaptation after successes and failures
in the lab often takes the form of notes.
In the lab, this is a formal lab notebook.
And I wish I was that organized in the kitchen.
But most of my adaptations sort of
take the form of these sort of sad and stained Post-it notes
from use over many years.
But that doesn't mean that everybody
is disorganized in the kitchen.
I think of the well-organized, carefully curated
and put together recipe cards of our grandmothers.
Curiosity is great, but I think that taking advantage of it
by documenting it is where you really
start to build that foundation for future experiments.
Now beyond the more meta ideas about my kitchen and my lab
lives, there are a lot of really physical similarities
between the two as well.
I mix things.
I heat things.
I wait.
I mix again.
I monitor things at certain temperatures.
And sometimes I really do think that just a different flick
of the wrist or careful touch can make the difference
in the final product.
Both places also involve specialized equipment
for certain jobs, from handheld tools to large machines.
And all of them are important for the final product.
And sometimes those machines can be
used to offload some of our work as well.
There are a pipetting robots in the lab
that can really precisely load plates.
And my mixer back there will mix bread dough for me
as I walk away and go do other things.
And so this makes me think about the future of working
in both of these places.
And I'm an optimist about it.
I'm not worried that robots are going to make
me obsolete in either place.
But I actually do hope that robots and machines
might be able to help me work in both places in the future.
I've joked in a prior video about a pipetting robot taking
over my job in the lab.
But really, if I'd had something like that,
it would have done the more repetitive tasks for me.
And so that I could have gone off and done more
reading and writing and thinking creatively about actually
doing the science.
It would have been a big help.
It's the same thing with the mixer back there.
Just because it can help to offload some of that work,
I can step away from something and focus on something more
creative, like video making.
But what about you?
What do you think the future of work
is going to look like in your field?
You can go to the link in the description box
down below to share your vision of the future of work,
as a part of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany's
#alwayscurious initiative.
So thank you so much to them for sponsoring this video.
I hope you sort of liked my thoughts
about the parallels between the lab and the kitchen.
Go forth, do science, and be cozy this winter
with some baked goods.
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That's not half bad.