In Praise of the Unexpected

Abstract

There are many advantages to having an open mind in science; not being too set on a particular direction or outcome can be a good thing. For me, a career in Space Physics was completely serendipitous and certainly unexpected. Over the years I have been mentor and advisor to many students who have set their hearts on a career in Space Physics, and it has been a pleasure to be able to encourage and help them follow that ambition, while admiring their sense of purpose and forward planning. But my own experience was quite different—things just happened. So my advice is to welcome unexpected turns, and at the scientific level, to be ready to embrace a result that surprises, or maybe even disappoints. To quote from Mike Lockwood’s Frontiers article “In Praise of Mistakes” (Lockwood, 2022, https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2022.852798) which inspired this article’s title, “If one can recognize a mistake, it is often a path to unexpected progress.”