Within and beyond my control

Article information

Sci Ed. 2021;8(1):123-125

Publication date (electronic) : 2021 February 20

doi : https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.240

Beom Sun Chung

, Min Suk Chung

Department of Anatomy, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea

Correspondence to Min Suk Chung dissect@ajou.ac.kr

Received 2020 August 28; Accepted 2020 September 7.

Sometimes, my research grant proposal is accepted even though I did not put a lot of effort into writing it. In such a case, I say it is “70% effort and 30% luck.” Other times, my proposal is rejected even though I put a lot of effort into it. Then, I say it is “70% luck and 30% effort.” Framing it this way is good for my mental health.

Research is the process of verifying a hypothesis. The process includes the hypothesis, materials and methods, results, and conclusion. The hypothesis and conclusion are two different things. If a scientist is confused and writes the hypothesis as if it is the conclusion, the article turns into a novel (fiction). This is the moment when a scientist changes into a swindler.

When I was a graduate student, it took me a lot of time to improve my article writing skills. It even took me half a year to finish writing my first article, during which time I was scolded by my academic advisor. However, after that harsh time, I have been able to write as many articles as I need. In the long term, ability is more important than achievement.

Researchers at academic institutions and research centers can form a team to carry out an investigation based on a research grant and write an article. However, they cannot give authorship to each other only because of the research grant. Like in the comic strip, they need to ask for a fair exchange of work.

When I first drew comics, many people called me “pathetic.” Some people scolded me for drawing comics, saying, “Do you, as a professor, have nothing to do but write comics?” But I kept creating comics with the belief that someone would acknowledge me someday. Nowadays, I am making a bit of money and winning a little fame with comics; people are becoming envious of me.

Notes

Conflict of Interest

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2019R1F1A1059842).

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