• Question: Everyone what makes you so special

    Asked by anon-178513 to Emma, Jordan, Kate, Lucy, Pankaj, Samuel on 19 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Pankaj Garg

      Pankaj Garg answered on 19 Jun 2018:

      Hi – When you do research – if you discover something – and if you know you are the only person on planet earth who knows what you know – that does make you feel special!!!

    • Photo: Jordan Moir

      Jordan Moir answered on 19 Jun 2018:

      This is a hard question and I feel after working hard for so many years at school and university it has paid off as I have a good job which I enjoy getting to meet new people, learn new skills and also help save peoples lives.

    • Photo: Lucy Green

      Lucy Green answered on 19 Jun 2018:

      me, special? Awww, shucks!
      I am very persistent and like to finish stuff. Don’t like giving up. Think they call that good ‘keeping going’ skills… that’s sort of special isn’t it?

    • Photo: Samuel Vennin

      Samuel Vennin answered on 19 Jun 2018:

      I am because I know that I am not :-p Does that make sense?

      More seriously, that is a tough question with no right answer! I think anyone’s first reflex would be to say they are ordinary – maybe even boring! The reason for that is that they are taking what they know, aka themselves, as a reference. But what is normal to them isn’t necessary to someone else! That is very important to remember! For example, I am surrounded by Drs who know a lot about the heart at the hospital so I don’t stand out. But to other people outside of my work, I might. It is a matter of context… You are right to think we are special because everyone is to a certain extent, but you are wrong to think we are “so” special because we don’t stand that much from the crowd and I could give you hundreds of names of people I deem are “more” special than we are.

      I am not sure I have been very clear here but I had a similar conversation with a friend once so this is my second attempt at getting this across…

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