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?