Encouraging creative risk taking & failure in research. #phd #phdlife #strategy #creativity #postdoc

TL;DR

Failure is an essential part of the creative process and should be embraced as an opportunity to learn and discover something new.

Transcript

now this may seem like an odd topic to you normalizing failure and experiments because we don't want failures of course not we want success but there's different kinds of failures and i made an earlier video about that about good and bad failures and the good failures are what i want to talk about here the good failures come from trying out really ... Read More

Key Insights

• 👋 Good failures are essential for innovation and progress, as they result from trying new and creative things that have a high likelihood of failure.
• 😨 Fear of failure, the effort required, and the desire for immediate payback prevent people from engaging in risky experiments.
• ❓ Labs can create a culture that appreciates and rewards creative failures by providing avenues to share and learn from failures.
• 💍 Individuals can limit initial investment, spread risks, or collaborate with others to engage in creative failures.
• 💍 Grants and funding structures can inhibit the freedom to take risks and engage in creative experiments.
• ❓ Immediate gratification and the desire for instant results can hinder the acceptance of failure as a step towards progress.
• 💍 Engaging in creative failures requires effort, adjustment, and a willingness to take on risks.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why are people generally not willing to engage in high-risk experiments?

People are often afraid of failure and are not willing to invest the effort, time, and resources required for potentially unsuccessful experiments.

Q: How can labs create a culture that values creative failures?

Labs can encourage people to try new things and learn from failures, provide opportunities to share failures with the team, and signal that creative failures are as valuable as successes.

Q: How can individuals limit the initial investment in risky experiments?

Instead of setting up large experiments, individuals can start with small exploratory studies to test the feasibility and critical points of their ideas, reducing the potential cost and time commitment.

Q: What can individuals do if the low investment strategy is not possible?

Individuals can collaborate with others within their lab, sharing ideas and resources to tackle complex and time-consuming experiments together.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Failure should be divided into good and bad failures, with good failures resulting from trying new and innovative things.

• The fear of failure, the effort and resources required, and the lack of immediate payback prevent people from engaging in risky experiments.

• Labs can create a culture that appreciates and rewards creative failures, and individuals can limit initial investment, spread risks, or collaborate with others.