It’s a humbling experience in the natural sciences. You can study chemistry for 4 years as an undergrad, then 4-6 years as a PhD. Then you go to a conference an

It’s a humbling experience in the natural sciences. You can study chemistry for 4 years as an undergrad, then 4-6 years as a PhD. Then you go to a conference and even in the small room dedicated to your little sub-sub-discipline, someone can get up and talk about something you have never heard of. The incorrect lesson to take from getting a PhD is that you are really smart and can solve everyone’s problems. The correct lesson is that there are many fields this deep, and you can’t just read a bit and think you are knowledgeable about the whole field.