Playing with Science

Is Science always a serious matter? No, says Pierre Laszlo who believes scientists are often like children at play

A The connection between science and play is not often discussed, perhaps because scientists take it for granted or because they are a little self-conscious about it and therefore try to hide it. In this context, play might describe a number of different activities. Play might involve the exploration of new uses of everyday objects just for curiosity; it could also include word jokes, or the playing of jokes or tricks on other scientists. The element of play in science is thus an elusive and difficult topic, but it is fundamental to the experience of scientists.

B One example of this connection is the jigsaw puzzle. Such puzzles present their players with two-dimensional fragments, each with a characteristic shape, from which to reconstruct an overall picture. Guessing the solution of a scientific problem has many similarities to completing a jigsaw puzzle. The scientists inspect each piece of data for a possible fit with its neighbors and, bit by bit, construct a whole argument. People who are good at jigsaw puzzles are able to guess what piece will fit even before trying it. In the same way, the best scientists are the ones who make the best guesses.

C But scientists do not play only at outguessing one another, or putting together pieces to complete a puzzle. They also regard their work as playing with toys. Joseph B. Lambert, a professor at Northwestern University, in the US,shed some light on the roots of this tendency. In a letter he wrote the following.

When I grew up, every kid put in some serious sandbox time, and it often involved building……complex sand structures around which fantasies were composed. … The organic chemistry labs at Yale … were fun in the same way. We mixed things up, and chemical transformations took place. …. The odours were pleasant, and the physical process of working with our hands, as with sand, was satisfying. … by the end of the year, I knew that I wanted to be an organic chemist, as I realized one could play ‘in the sandbox’  for a living.

Indeed, many scientists amuse themselves by playing with the various toys of their trade, perhaps coming up with ingenious devices to get a particular job done or diverting a piece of commercial equipment from its original purpose for novel scientific uses. The apparatus put together by Robert Millikan and Harvey Fletcher to measure the charge of the electron, which involved a perfume atomizer bought at the local pharmacy, is a classic example of such inspired tinkering.

D Whereas society often keeps a lid on playfulness, science encourages and nurtures it. Take for example, the funny names that scientists have given to various chemical substances: twisting, windowpane, penguin one or megaphone. Each class of organic molecules includes a few such humorous names. Similar fun is had in other fields of science.

E Hoaxes are further product of the playfulness of scientists. A relatively recent example concerns the "Plate of Brasse," which states England's claim to California and was supposedly left by the English navigator Sir Francis Drake party during his visit in 1579. A brass plate thought to be Drake’s was discovered in the 1930s. But in 1977, Helen Michel and Frank Asaro, of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, showed that the copper and zinc alloy to make the brass were of higher purity than would have been available in the 1500s. They concluded that Drake’s plate was most likely crafted much closer to the time when it was first brought to light.

F Shortly afterwards staff at the University of California announced that the artefact was devised as a practical joke, conceived by a group of friends of Herbert E. Bolton, who directed the Bancroft Library at the University’s Berkeley campus. Bolton, it seems, was intrigued by tales of Drake having installed a plate to record his visit to California, and often urged his students to look for it. Some of Bolton's friends decided to play a joke on him, but things misfired after Bolton went public and announced that the relic was authentic before he could be told about the joke.

G Sometimes hoaxes serve a useful purpose.,Some years ago Nathan S. Lewis, a professor of chemistry at California institute of technology, and a graduate student were doing experiments in the laboratory of a senior professor, Harry Gray. Another co-worker had the habit of going through their data and rushing to Gray with his interpretation. Lewis decided to set a trap for him. He recalls:

I manufactured an NMR spectrum.… We left it out as bait. [Our colleague] took it and wrote up a paper on how important this result was. He was ready to go right to [the Journal of the American Chemical Society]. He had taken hook, line, and sinker on the manufactured piece of data. We didn't let him mail it…[ but ]This stopped him temporarily from taking our data and interpreting it before making sure it was right.

H But is the playfulness of scientists usually so helpful? One might argue that to play a practical joke is a waste of time. So why do it? Perhaps play is an integral part of the human condition and spirit. The psychologist's answer might be that scientists tend to play because science presents them with too much seriousness. Another possibility is that scientists like to play because they are so young themselves. Some disciplines, mathematics especially, have a reputation for the narrow window of creativity in youth. But it may also be that there is some cognitive value to the playful element in science. A playful, childlike attitude may be extremely useful and scientists should not be too embarrassed to acknowledge that play is often what motivates them.