Life is like an endless journey, exploring the vastness of space. We need the propulsion to move forward, often facing complex tasks and unpredictable risks, with a destination to land. How to effectively deal with these challenges and ensure a safe landing becomes a formidable problem.
The second book I read in 2024 was "Think Like a Rocket Scientist" by Ozan Varol. This book provides us with some answers to these questions. As the book states, "Rocket scientists must imagine the unimaginable and solve the unsolvable." The mindset of rocket scientists can offer new insights for our daily lives and work.
This is not a book about rocket science,
but it tells you how scientists think
The author of "Think Like a Rocket Scientist," Ozan Varol, is a former rocket scientist and cognitive psychologist. He is also the youngest tenured professor at the University of Oregon Law School.
In 2003, Ozan Varol joined the operational team of the Mars Exploration Rover program and participated in the most extensive and complex planetary exploration mission launched by humans to date—the Cassini-Huygens mission.
In English, there's a common saying, "it's not rocket science," meaning that something is not difficult to do or understand. In other words, "rocket science" is popularly perceived as something complex and challenging.
The author contends that rocket science is a discipline dealing with extreme uncertainty and high risks. When facing complex tasks and limited resources, rocket scientists must employ innovative ways of thinking and methods. Beyond the intricate technical knowledge, the creativity and critical thinking hidden behind the seemingly incomprehensible field of rocket science have the potential to reshape our lives.
The author extensively uses real-life cases and research findings in the book to illustrate the thinking methods of rocket science and applies them to everyday life and work. The central idea of the book is that we can learn key thinking patterns and strategies from rocket science to better tackle various challenges in life and work. One of the strengths of the book lies in its engaging stories and practical examples, vividly showcasing the thought processes of rocket scientists.
Scientists' Principles of Thinking and Problem Solving
According to Ozan Varol, his involvement in rocket-related development and exploration tasks has profoundly influenced his worldview. Rocket launches involve countless variables, yet scientists always manage to find solutions.
Embrace Uncertainty
Human genetics make us naturally dependent on and fond of certainty. However, only when we dare to take risks can we make unexpected discoveries. The high points of groundbreaking scientific research are always accompanied by awe of the unknown and the courage to move forward.
First Principles
The concept of first principles was introduced by Aristotle, who stated that "in every systematic inquiry, there is a first principle, a basic proposition or assumption that cannot be omitted or violated, and upon which all subsequent reasoning is dependent."
The idea of "first principles" has gained significant popularity in recent years, closely associated with figures like Elon Musk. Musk believes that the first principles thinking model enables him to trace back to the essence of things, reevaluate business directions, and has played a crucial role in his success.
Thought Experiments
For scientists, the thought laboratory is often more crucial than the real-world laboratory. Thought experiments provide scientists with an infinite space of imagination, allowing them to surpass the physical constraints of the laboratory, contemplate deeper and broader scientific questions, and thus propel the development of scientific knowledge.
In our daily lives and work, we can also adopt similar methods—envision various scenarios, explore new theories and models to gain a deeper understanding, and extract underlying patterns.
Practice and Testing
The goal is not to discover everything that can proceed smoothly but to find everything that could possibly go wrong. This involves a comprehensive and holistic expectation and mindset, considering all possible factors, including potential issues and risks, rather than solely focusing on seemingly smooth and reliable directions. This comprehensive expectation helps to gain a more thorough understanding of the problem and reduce potential blind spots.
Find Flaws in Creativity
Learn to think in reverse: What haven't I seen? What facts should appear but haven't?
For example, in Sherlock Holmes's story "The Silver Blaze," a racehorse named Silver Blaze suddenly goes missing, and the stable boy is found dead in the stable. The police are perplexed, unable to explain why the racehorse would disappear suddenly and why someone would kill the stable boy. In the investigation, Holmes employs the method of reverse thinking—the crucial aspect is not what happened in the case but what didn't happen.
Holmes asks some unconventional questions about the case, such as why the dog didn't bark or why the stable door lock wasn't broken. By focusing on what didn't happen, Holmes eventually reaches a conclusion, identifies the criminal, and explains the entire sequence of events.
Failure is the Greatest Success
We can acknowledge failure, but we shouldn't celebrate it; instead, we should critically analyze it. In rocket science, failure can mean the loss of lives or the loss of billions of dollars in taxpayers' money. Failure can result in the dissipation of decades of work.
No one celebrates the countless explosions and unfortunate events that occurred during the space race—they are embarrassing and potentially catastrophic, not to be taken lightly. However, failure serves as the gateway to discovery, innovation, and long-term success. Some things that may seem like failures in the short term can reverse course when viewed with a long-term perspective.
Success is the Greatest Failure
The author introduces a concept called "near-accident," referring to an event that was supposed to result in a collision but turned out to be safe. We should be wary of such successes—spacecraft with design flaws may safely land on Mars because the Martian environment does not trigger the flaw; a wildly off-target soccer shot might bounce off another player and into the goal; even with poor trial strategies, you might win a case if facts and legal provisions are on your side.
For rocket scientists, every day is the first day
The author concludes the book by quoting Jeff Bezos—Bezos writes an annual letter to Amazon shareholders, and each year he repeats a meaningful phrase: "Maintain a day one mentality." After being asked about the second day after decades of repeating this slogan, Bezos responded, "Day two is stasis, followed by irrelevance, followed by excruciating, painful decline, followed by death. And that is why it is always day one."
Real space missions are often filled with unexpected challenges. For rocket scientists, every day is like the first day—the vast universe knows no bounds, new challenges are always unfolding, sometimes leading to failures, and other times bringing pleasant surprises. In essence, life mirrors this reality, and this is the true meaning of "exploration."