Why We Should Stay Ready to Alter Our Views By Michael Fendrich, Director Center for Applied Behavioral Health Research
O
ur boundless curiosity and capacity for life-long learning are amazing. My 82-year-old motherin-law, who spends a great deal of time writing poetry, recently enrolled in an introductory physics class. Poetry may seem to have little in common with physics, but by opening herself up to new ways of seeing the world, she is expanding her universe, allowing herself to draw on new visions and metaphors to enhance her poetic craft in her ninth decade. Being trained in a discipline is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it gives a person a set of tried-andtrue tools and a perspective that allows him to answer questions, build knowledge, and solve practical and important problems within his field. On the other hand, it can narrow one’s worldview to the point that it limits the ability to both see and solve those problems. As we mature as scientists, especially if we experience success, we tend to work within our disciplinary comfort zone, replicating patterns and practices that worked before and becoming set in our ways. One of the toughest challenges scientists face is staying open-minded. We live in difficult times that require open-minded, collaborative approaches to science. HIV, drug addiction, trauma, and mental illness—the core research areas at the Center for Applied Behavioral Health Research, or CABHR—are complex societal and psychological problems, and scientists have made little progress in resolving them after decades of research. Extramural funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have demanded that we step up our game and create science that accelerates the pace at which we understand and solve these problems and their numerous ramifications. 37