Nature Medicine | Spoonful of Medicine

Science down under

I’ve just returned from a two-week trip to Australia to scout out stories on the state of research in the country. We’re planning to run a special issue about Australia science early next year so you can read about it in detail then, but one thing I can tell you is I have never met a bunch of people who take more pride in their country.

Almost every scientist I spoke to had trained abroad and they all said they couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. They could go on — and do — for hours about the marvelous lifestyle. Despite the lack of jobs for young scientists, postdocs come back to Australia for the 9-to-5 days, the slower pace, the lack of intense competition all around them.

There’s no doubt that despite this lack of intensity, Australia does produce some world-class science. But here’s my question for you: Is it possible for scientists to lead this kind of laidback lifestyle and still stay competitive? Or would Australia be a much bigger contender in science if its researchers burned the midnight oil like their American and European counterparts do?

Comments

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    Achaetes McNeil said:

    In addition to Australians, I can think of at least two other nationalities that are as proud of their country: Spaniards and Israelies.

    Whenever you meet one of them abroad, essentially everyone yearns for the opportunity to return to their homeland.

    I find this particularly striking in the case of Israelies, as they want to go back to a country that’s always in a state of alert and where they need to spend a lot of time away from work and with the army.

    I’ve never been there, but it must be a wonderful country if people are willing to make such a sacrifice for the sake of returning.

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    Mr. Gunn said:

    Your description fits New Orleans quite well, too.

    The way we rationalize it down here is that having outside interests helps you keep things in perspective.

    Certainly more would get done if we maintained a high-stress competitive environment, but would it be the right things?