Letter to a Young Ecologist

This short essay by Daniel C. Laughlin is beneficial not only for young ecologists but also for all scientists both young and old. The author spoke of three elements of ecology: natural history, quantitative reasoning, and communication. If you are an oceanographer or climate scientist, you may want to substitute “natural history” with “observational data” for your discipline. Some passages from the essay are shown below.

Dear colleague, You have been on my mind. I worry that this relentlessly distracting world is impeding your journey toward becoming the productive ecologist you aim to be. The deep work that is needed to advance ecology requires time for reflection and reflection requires a mind that is clear, open, and eager. How do we make the most of each precious hour when time management is a zero-sum game? I still struggle to swat away the interruptions that define this age of acceleration, but after 20 years of navigating this rapidly shifting terrain, I have some words of advice. Spend your energy on three elements of ecology: natural history, quantitative reasoning, and communication. Some passages taken from the essay are shown below.

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Communication through writing and speaking transforms your discoveries into human knowledge, for without the art of communication your discoveries wither on the vine. Productive ecologists are professional writers, and the best writers are often heavy readers. If you want to write well, then read good books to internalize what great writing looks like, sounds like, and feels like. Do not limit yourself to the classic ecological texts. Read novels. Read anything that elicits joy, sorrow, and especially wonder, because superior science communication fuses wonder with logic. Words can be sharp implements for expressing nuanced reasoning. Articulating your own arguments and deconstructing those of others requires deliberation, and the uncertainty of such moments can be breathtaking: you never know whether inspection of an argument will end in surrender to its irrefutable logic, or end in puzzlement compelling objections to its fallacy. This takes mental acuity, so do so when you are most alert. It is just as important to present your work to live audiences to whittle your argument down to its most salient points. Practice with your supportive friends and laboratory mates and work up to more skeptical audiences so that you can effectively communicate your arguments, discoveries, and stories. Avoid being beholden to your own words and relish a merciless editor. Perfect papers do not exist, and good papers only became good after persistent editing.

It may seem counterintuitive that to get ahead in an accelerating world, you should try slowing down. But your life and work will be richer if you give yourself the time to read deeply, write clearly, and reason quantitatively, preferably after taking that long walk.

Laughlin, D. C. 2024. Letter to a Young Ecologist. Bull Ecol Soc Am 00(00): e2151. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.2151