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Nick Oswald: hello, and welcome to another edition of the happy scientist podcast, this is the place to be if you want to become a happier healthier and more productive scientist.

Nick Oswald: i'm Nick, the founder of bite sized bio.com and today we are drawing on the wisdom of Mr Kenneth vote the baptized bio team coach and founder.

Nick Oswald: Of the executive mentioned company real curators today and then all other scientists podcast episodes you get to benefit from his utilize words of wisdom to help you increase your performance enjoyment and success in the lab.

Nick Oswald: Today, we will be discussing something that you've maybe never managed to spot before we're talking about how to see your blind spots so Okay, how do you do, that I can you see something that you can't see.

Kenneth: Well yeah well and begins with the first thing we have to acknowledge everybody's got blind spots, we we all agree with that right everybody else, especially they've got blind spots I.

Kenneth: know I yeah and I know you do.

Kenneth: The thing we have to get clear about is you know I myself have blind spots it's just it's just how it is and.

Kenneth: This is, this is where it gets more interesting it's not that hard to admit that you have blind spots until it gets specific then it's a matter of.

Kenneth: law but not that one you know, like well, are you always kind well sure well how about you always kind to your spouse wow yeah talk about that well, but I always can be a kid, so why.

Kenneth: Are you always kind of year year Grad students you don't you didn't go down the list and people say, well, I yeah I met I was kind but whenever you want to make it specific, are you kind with strangers, are you kind of a homeless person on the street, you know.

Kenneth: They don't want to look at it, but this is this is part of the what you have to do, the first thing we have to do is admit explicitly that a particular blind spot exists, until we face.

Kenneth: A specific blind spot we're never going to be able to see it.

Kenneth: So after that we can head through some stages of how to do that, but it all begins with that acknowledge a blind spot now, it might be something that has to do with no that's it's very specific like I just I just don't understand.

Nick Oswald: Something.

Kenneth: You know I see there's a prevalent view right now I just don't get it, I don't I don't see what all all the excitement's about I don't know why people care.

Kenneth: I don't know why I should care, you know and or why it would matter in my work, you know so it's up to you to decide what things really matter but.

Kenneth: After that you're going to find there's a there's a standard way that we all approach this kind of thing when you have a blind spot, the first thing after you realize it.

Kenneth: Is is you realize how terribly uncomfortable you are like here you i've been going along and all of a sudden, you realize oh holy cow i've never understood this i've never i've never even notice it that matter, whatever it may be, you know, this could be something.

Kenneth: It can be something you know purely emotional, but it can be something very factually based that can be you know very much that is inhibiting your progress, as a scientist and as a researcher.

Kenneth: You know something that you just haven't haven't noticed, to look at and now you're finally going, you know all this time this keeps happening I keep having this problem keep having this problem, what if I looked over here.

Kenneth: And you know it might be something that you feel is below you to look at like maybe maybe I need to work on the environment being more sterile you know I mean that sounds I mean I know that's a very basic thing, but what if what if you decide to look at that.

Kenneth: And that's when you discover certain things that you might not have realized now that's when you were all like holy cow, how is this there's this contaminant here and I, how did it get there.

Kenneth: You don't know now you got something to look at the at the beginning, when you first see a blind spot and it's uncomfortable or maybe embarrassing or or it can be intellectually frightening like I don't know how many deal with that.

Kenneth: Our natural reaction is to resist.

Kenneth: Resistance is something that i'm sure you encounter all the time in others, and in yourself and it gives some evidence of.

Kenneth: Dealing with blind spots So the first thing you want to look at is what the one I want to see, and I put it that way, the important part is about the one thing.

Kenneth: It isn't that you can't see it it's that you don't want to see you don't want to see a problem it's gonna be so much harder, if this is true Oh, but if it is true it's true Mon, you got to do it.

Kenneth: So your first.

Nick Oswald: So so here's here's here's a just trying to think of a way to contextualize this and science simple one, so imagine you're you're in the lab you're doing your experiments and you you're doing an experiment that involves a lot of preparing and the results just look don't make sense.

Nick Oswald: you've taken the reagents you're looking for all of the all of the solutions that are someone else's fault some wrong religion.

Nick Oswald: or something that is easy to fix like or you change the timer you know the timer was on too long, or something like that.

Nick Oswald: Finally, boils down to the fact that you the way that you are preparing is causing the problem and that's fundamental, because it means that you.

Nick Oswald: will have to go away and check all your for pets you're gonna have to just check your preparing technique that might mean that previous experience had been messed up by the same issue that's going to be painful right.

Kenneth: Right.

Nick Oswald: The page, so that the quicker, you can allow yourself to.

Nick Oswald: Stop resisting.

Nick Oswald: That possibility and deal with it, then you know, the better the quicker you're going to get back on track.

Kenneth: Sure, so as an aside, if if this petting problem sounds of your issue you have encountered your head over to bite size bow there's a bunch of articles about that over there.

Kenneth: So, so now let's let's look at this a little different are you Okay, you know, and you don't want to see, but why don't you want to see it.

Kenneth: And I think you just you just gave us a hint of why you might not want to see certain things like oh man, I have to get up to speed.

Kenneth: or i'm going to have to go through a whole lot of work or i'm going to have to ask for a whole lot of work to be done.

Kenneth: To to address this, so it doesn't go away, just because you don't want to see it, it doesn't go away because you've got a reason to not want to see it.

Kenneth: These are excuses behind resistance and I want to be, I want to be really blunt here i'm saying excuses they're not reasons for resistance.

Kenneth: They are excuses for resistance they're not serving you they're getting any way in there and they're keeping you from from addressing your blind spots.

Kenneth: So something some another question, you might ask yourself this what may, I have to admit, now that i've seen something year.

Kenneth: Is there something I have to admit.

Kenneth: You know, and then the add a mission might be, I have not got myself fully qualified for this technique and I need to work on it.

Nick Oswald: It was so so here's one is ego yeah Okay, so I kind of skipped over preparing because I so many.

Nick Oswald: i'm not going to talk for anyone else.

Nick Oswald: I kind of skipped over this, the basic of preparing because look it's easy that's the fundamentals i'm clever, why should I have to set set and figure out and test myself on something so menial I just go straight into the into the meat of the experiment, you know.

Nick Oswald: More you know I never take the time to clean my puppets and calibrate them and so on, and I thought I could get away with it, you know.

Kenneth: Even I know that sounds bad, but you know that's the thing about it just you may find when you you're gonna have to admit that you're doing some things that even look bad to somebody who's not a scientist.

Kenneth: yeah so but here's the thing if it looks bad because it is bad well, you need to know you need to you need to take notice of it and you need to admit it i'm not saying you gotta.

Kenneth: Get on a soapbox and tell everybody how bad you suck at this, you know it's a matter of admitting to yourself, you know it's not like you have to.

Kenneth: You have to be browbeat about this it's just when you recognize that that there's something something that you need to work on something you're failing at something you're inadequate at by all, by all means admitted to yourself.

Kenneth: Now, another thing another question you man need to ask yourself, is what may have to give up in in the light of this blind spot, that is, you may have some some preciously held views and what if now you've.

Kenneth: there's evidence that you need to change your view.

Kenneth: And that can be that can be even harder to do than to admitting to to a laugh.

Kenneth: Because you got you've got an investment in your.

Kenneth: In your present view you know.

Nick Oswald: See you think that you know i'm above all that stuff.

Kenneth: Collaboration right.

Nick Oswald: I don't need to spend the time on that I can be i'm talking about myself here.

Nick Oswald: it's about you know I can just do this stuff and I don't need to pay attention to the details that's what probably why.

Nick Oswald: The lab anymore, to be honest.

Kenneth: Well, you know it does take a certain type of personality.

Kenneth: yeah and you know we've we've talked in the past about there's plenty of.

Kenneth: possibilities for making a living, as a scientist that don't involve the lab so.

Kenneth: Obviously.

Kenneth: next meeting somehow it's funny though that when that example.

Nick Oswald: You know from something so small, you know seemingly so small, it can cause big problems.

Nick Oswald: If you don't look if you don't let yourself see, but when you do let you see it itself see it can be fundamentally life changing you know even that is.

Nick Oswald: Right I you know, do I want I might the sort of person who can do this, can you know commit to this level of detail all the time.

Kenneth: You know.

Nick Oswald: Maybe i'm in the wrong career, you know that's taking it to the to the extreme, but.

Kenneth: we're thinking to the negative extreme but it might be like you know what.

Kenneth: I want to, I want to be this, I want to rise this level, I want to be one of the excellent people that can do this because I know a lot of people just plain can't and maybe i'm going to find it hard to get there, but i'm capable of getting there, and so it drives you that way.

Nick Oswald: So you've just uncovered one of the obstacles that you are unconsciously blocking yourself from being excellent okay.

Kenneth: Right well that leads to another question what am I gaining by resisting.

Kenneth: When you know why, why do I not want to give up this disbelief Why do I not want to admit there's a problem, why didn't I want to see.

Kenneth: All that stuff is because there's something you've gotten out of resisting it's actually been beneficial to you so don't be too hard on yourself that you've been resistant of something.

Kenneth: Because you there are some benefit yeah maybe the benefit is just I don't have to work that hard you know, to think that are.

Kenneth: Absolutely yeah but other times it's like well you know I thought I had this all sorted out, and that was a very comforting position and well that's turning out to not be so so Now I know.

Kenneth: Now I know I resist so once you see all that, and you start to realize well there's really not any value in me resisting any further.

Kenneth: When when you want all the all of the possibilities for resistance being good for you go away well now you are in a position to switch over to that next most beautiful thing, and that is acceptance.

Kenneth: At this point, you've got a blind spot and you're not going to fight it and you decided, you know you've been through the process i'm not fighting this thing yeah I still don't know anything.

Kenneth: I don't I just know, I have a problem I don't know what to do about it, but you know what i'm okay with that, because having a knowledge that i've got this issue to deal with well not I can go find a solution, you know I don't I don't.

Kenneth: I don't have to know what to do, yet what I have learned, though, is now, I know I don't know something and that's extremely useful and I will refer you back to episode 31 of the podcast and we talked about what you don't know you don't know.

Kenneth: That this is part of the way of getting getting out of that mode when when you see your blind spots you're you're starting to uncover what you don't know you don't know and you've taken to it a very, very useful place of I know what I don't know.

Kenneth: I hear you talking in the background, there so.

Nick Oswald: i'm just agreeing.

OK.

Kenneth: So the other thing about this is now that you've realized there's something you don't know.

Kenneth: You can get all fixated about the the monumental amount of stuff that you don't know and it can be you know you can.

Kenneth: get down on yourself but, but you know you're not the sum of your voice that's not who you are so don't worry about the things you don't know there's always going to be stuff you don't know and there's going to be important things you don't know and the fact is.

Kenneth: they're being important things you don't know is what has driven science, from the beginning and it's it's that drawn to find those things that you don't know to fill those voids.

Kenneth: And that sort of acceptance will do for you, you know, and obviously acceptance is way better than resistance resistance is giving you a limited value.

Nick Oswald: it's one of those you know, a different angle on that sort of idea of you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable if you want to yeah.

and

Nick Oswald: yeah and and one way to look at that is what you're looking for is your blind spots and how to fix them.

Kenneth: Well, and I got another article you brought up to mind put in the show notes it's a it's about it's an article was entitled there's no such thing as a comfort zone.

Kenneth: it's, this is a manufactured notion of what we think we're comfortable with because other people are comfortable with things we're not comfortable with well obviously it's possible, so we can go there okay.

Kenneth: So, having gotten, to the point of acceptance, you will notice the you still have a blind spot all you've done is revealed it and you gotten clear about it, and you know it's there, but you know what to do about it well, you got to go keep going.

Kenneth: And for that you got to move to a place that i'm going to going to label post acceptance in post acceptance you choose discovery you're gonna i'm out there, looking for the solution to this and I couldn't in some cases it's just.

Kenneth: it's just.

Kenneth: You know blocking and tackling, as it were, there's there's nothing about it that's going to be that hard you know.

Kenneth: learning how to pipe it properly, you know that that's something I can get schooled on I can I can get information about that, and I can put it into practice, I can do it.

Kenneth: There are other other blind spots, when you open them up you're going to realize there isn't anybody there's nowhere to look there's No one.

Kenneth: No one can tell me the answer this i'm going to have to go find it, and when you commit to that, I mean to me that's the highest calling of science, you you that's been something science has done better than any other.

Kenneth: endeavor and human existence in my mind, so you know discovery is is the place to be.

Kenneth: Now, like we talked about earlier with with resistance, or were you were getting some gains from resisting now's the time to really dig into all right well how do I.

Kenneth: replace those gains from my former resistance, because those gains obviously mattered to you so you're going to need to find a way to replace those and sometimes in.

Kenneth: In filling your blind spots that's a good place to start because you might it might be why I got to do this whole discovery thing before I can really solve the spines but, but before I do that, let me solidify my my foundation.

Kenneth: and make sure that i'm getting all the things I used to get out and resisting.

Kenneth: Already and get that laid out there and then you're going to have then you're going to be more comfortable in your your search for discovery.

Kenneth: And I realized that's not always possible, you know when folks will launch into.

Kenneth: You know, finding new vaccine and they had a very short time frame in front of them, they didn't really get a chance to get comfortable that's.

Kenneth: That that wasn't going to work there, and that you know that's true in a number of ways in life there's sometimes when.

Kenneth: My getting comfortable is not a priority, then so you know you have to assess for yourself when that matters, but when you have the opportunity to do so do it, you know it's.

Kenneth: it's going to make everything easier and and it's also clear clear the decks, as it were, so you so you can focus all your attention on discovery going forward.

Kenneth: I was thinking about the somebody that I used to know on or used to work with sort of that way yeah I had hired him as a as a software engineer.

Kenneth: And you know, he was good, as a software engineer, but it wasn't his his degree was in software engineering and his resume wasn't in software engineering his resume was quite interesting he had been a tank commander.

Kenneth: For for the US army now.

Kenneth: it's it's a in some ways it's a small job you know, he was a he had the rank of captain, you know that's not insignificant.

Kenneth: And commanding a tank is not insignificant but it's a small crew, you know you like three people in the tank with them, you know oh it's not like you know, having a giant battalion behind you, but then again you've got a tank.

Kenneth: So.

Kenneth: What he did was he was able to take his experience and say, well, I can apply this in another area, and this is a time of the.com boom and we were really willing.

Kenneth: To bring people into the software degree, because they were already all soaked up and and some of the best engineers I ever had were people that had degrees in all kinds of other fields in history and in biology and chemistry.

Kenneth: That made that turned out to be better software engineers, then the people I had that were software engineers by by training.

Kenneth: So yeah it came out of a willingness to see okay there's stuff I don't know because they knew they didn't know stuff because they weren't trained there.

Kenneth: it's like their eyes were open to to a different way of seeing things, whereas the people that have gone through the software engineering.

Kenneth: Education had gotten they've gotten deeply path and not to say that was a bad thing, because you know why did that we don't want to be reinventing the wheel, but it was great to have some people out there had a little broader view.

Kenneth: And could see and they can clearly see some blind spots that some of their better educated comrades could not see because they were just to deepen and you know not they couldn't forever see it, but where it wasn't automatic so that's a different.

Nick Oswald: viewpoint isn't it it's like.

Nick Oswald: it's like you know people come into biology from from mathematics or chemistry or something like that.

Kenneth: They.

Nick Oswald: Maybe don't have as.

Nick Oswald: They don't immediately have this specific domain knowledge, but they come with a such a different viewpoint that can be really beneficial.

Kenneth: For sure, so you know and and perhaps you, dear listener that's you so you know you got that make it work, you know.

Kenneth: So that's the idea move from from resistance to accept this to post acceptance go back and and look at what you don't know you don't know and see what see what you can do.

it's the way to do it.

Nick Oswald: Thanks candace really has a good a good.

Nick Oswald: summary of a very important point actually quite a good way for it was quite clarifying for me so hopefully I.

Nick Oswald: can mention a couple of articles there that will be in the show notes for this episode, you can find the show notes, by going to bite sized bio.com forward slash the happy scientist.

Nick Oswald: and looking for this, which is episode 47 and on that page you'll find the show notes and at that same place you'll find you can find all of the previous episodes that we've done.

Nick Oswald: plenty to look through if you haven't done so already some really interesting stuff there.

Nick Oswald: And that just leaves me to see to remind you about the Facebook page as well, if you want to join us there of the happy scientists club facebook.com forward slash the happy scientists club, and you can join up with us chat with us what we want to do there.

Nick Oswald: So Ken Ken Thank you very much for another eliminating.

Nick Oswald: Little nugget here and.

Nick Oswald: A pleasure see you all again next time right.

three to four.

Nice.

Kenneth: Right.

Nick Oswald: Well, I have something to ask you about remember these ice I oh.

Kenneth: Yes, yes.

Kenneth: Yes, okay I gotta I gotta do this.

Kenneth: thing is, we try to transfer I was called look for.

Nick Oswald: Transfer wise and get.

Kenneth: yeah i've done that, before myself.

Kenneth: yeah George you'd like that, though.

Nick Oswald: send you in transfer wise.

Kenneth: one more step before you transfer.

email verification.

Nick Oswald: Okay that's.

Nick Oswald: Another good one yeah all right.

Kenneth: we'll talk soon yeah.