• Question: Why did you want to be an explorer?

    Asked by to Tom on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Thomas Smith

      Thomas Smith answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      I really like the word “explorer”. You can explore anything. Sometimes I find myself exploring the basement of my university, or the contents of a book shop, or wikipedia, and occasionally when I’m really lucky I get to explore a new place, like the rainforests of Borneo or just a new coffee shop in my local town 😉

      Being a scientist is another form of exploring. Some people would say that an explorer is only an explorer if they are going somewhere that no one else has ever been before. And a scientist is doing just that…. when I see how much carbon dioxide is coming off a fire burning in a piece of rainforest soil in my lab, it might well be the first time anyone on the planet knows that number. It’s a very nice feeling, but also the same feeling that you get when you discover a new exciting place to eat, or somewhere to chill in the park.

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