Working to Live or Living to Work?

@BahaNick

LIFE IN THE LAB:

Survey Says…

Scientist/ Lab Technician

“need coffee to get through the workday”

Workin’ 9 till 5…

Scientists tend to:

• Work late into the night

• Work at weekends

…and a bit more

Wang, X. et al. (2012)

Workin’ 9 till 5…

Overwhelmed

 “A lifestyle involved in science was incompatible with the life I wanted to lead”

“I’ve committed nearly a decade to science with nothing to show for it but publications.”

“Meanwhile, our family has not progressed.”

Sabbath

A pattern of work & rest

Sign of relationship between us & God

Is primarily about reconnection with God

Exodus 31:13

Sabbath

Not just an observance

Up to us to chose how we do it

Requires discipline

Romans 14:5-6

Sabbath

Robert Boyle famously carried out scientific experiments on Sunday:

“the study of the Booke of Nature, is one of the Ends of the Institution of the Sabbath”

Sabbath

“The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people…

…and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath…

…So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

Mark 2:27-28

Jesus is Lord

Early creed adopted by the Christian church

Political: replaced Caesar as lord

Led to conflict with the society

Romans 10:9

Science Culture

The obituaries – lost but not forgotten

“the problem is Nick that you’re competing against people with no life”

Science Culture

“By continuously putting my family above everything else, I’ve been made to feel like a complete failure”

Hostile reactions to other priorities

Science Culture

“Men or women who [marry] scientists should be clearly aware beforehand… that their spouses are in the grip of a powerful obsession

that is likely to take the first place in their lives outside the home, and probably inside too”

Sir Peter Medawar (1979) Advice to a Young Scientist

Science Culture

“Many are under the shadow of wives for whom they are unsuited-and at times society and even humanity as a whole suffers because of the scholar's wife.

So many careers have been thwarted because of feminine vanity or capriciousness!

As is well known, women show an inclination toward a family…What a lofty egotism!”

Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1912) Advice to a Young Investigator

Ledford (2011) Nature, 477:20-22

Science Culture

“[He] draws out each patient’s personal story. “it is a reminder of the urgency of their work”

“Everyone’s told not to stress themselves or overdo things, and I could not disagree more,” – they are missing out

Overbaugh (2011) Nature, 477:27-28

Science Culture

“many of my best ideas [come] while walking the dogs in the morning, riding my bike home from work or weekending in the mountains.”

Conclusions

How does faith make me different?

Perspective & balance is healthy

Science is precarious

Support is essential

Questions?

Are there any boundaries between your work and

home life?

Are they necessary?

How do you deal with these issues?

We are privileged to

work in science?

Christians better scientists or just

lazier?