I learned an important life lesson during my first year in grad school, working on my Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology.
The rule for 1st year students in my major professor’s lab was simple, and we hated it.
Here was the first part of the rule: you could not start an experiment until you had designed it, understood how it would test your hypothesis, and what you would conclude from different possible outcomes. In most cases you had to think about the follow-up experiments that would be required.
It was actually the second part we hated most.
Once you had an experiment designed and written out, you put in your drawer, pulled out a blank sheet of paper, and had to design a completely different way to test the same hypothesis. You weren’t allowed to try the first design until you had a 2nd workable experimental design.
Sometimes the second design came easily, and was obviously better.
Sometimes I struggled to come up with anything at all, or could only think up a truly bad design.
You had to talk through your designs with our major prof before you could start actual bench work. His feedback and commentary were some of the best learning experiences I had in the whole program. “Think!” he would say. “I am training you to think like a scientist!”
I encourage you to consider this in your own project work. Come up with a design, an approach, a response. Think of a completely different alternative. The discipline pays off because you’ll often find a better approach.
