What Scientific Research Is Really Like

The public still thinks of research as a very serious and lonely activity. The picture of a scientist that typically comes to mind is that of a person in labcoat hunched over heavy books, locked up in their ivory tower. The truth is that scientists are more like a group of uninhibited, curious kids at play. Maybe teenagers would be more into science if they had a more accurate picture of what research is like and realized that one way to avoid growing up is to become a scientist.

PATTIE MAES is an Associate Professor at MIT's Media Laboratory, where she founded and directs the Software Agents Group, and is principal investigator of the e-markets Special Interest Group. She currently holds the Sony Corporation Career Development Chair.

Further reading on Edge: Intelligence Augmentation — A Talk With Pattie Maes.

LINK: Pattie Maes' Home Page.