Mark Roth is one of the more interesting scientists working today: his philosophy of work is less about specific hypotheses and more mad scientist ideas. And he lives in Seattle!
his rejection of the specialist nature of medical research (or really, any academic research) in favour of the seemingly crazy approach of picking an "impossible" task has lead to this amazing discovery. he was considered a kook in his field.
there is another ted talk about specialization vs. generalism from ted that has to do with liberal arts education but the argument equally applies to the philosophy of scientific research: http://www.ted.com/talks/liz_coleman_s_c…
Icarea?
his rejection of the specialist nature of medical research (or really, any academic research) in favour of the seemingly crazy approach of picking an "impossible" task has lead to this amazing discovery. he was considered a kook in his field.
there is another ted talk about specialization vs. generalism from ted that has to do with liberal arts education but the argument equally applies to the philosophy of scientific research:
http://www.ted.com/talks/liz_coleman_s_c…
esquire wrote a profile on Mark Roth a few years ago, I think Golob may have linked it. http://www.esquire.com/features/best-and…
but yeah, interesting man, not only because of the work he is doing, but because of his overall research philosophy.