Pet peeves are quintessential traits of geniuses. Einstein never wore socks; Jobs only wore turtlenecks; and linguistic purists shudder at the slightest grammatical laxity. For them, catachresis is cringe-worthy (Just Google ‘catachresis’ to understand). Alex Filippenko, astronomer and Professor at UC Berkeley, also has a pet peeve: incorrect pronunciations. When he’s not winning Nobels or discovering supernovae, Filippenko wonders about ubiquitous pronuncial conundrums — ‘kill-AW-meter’ or ‘KILL-o-meter’, ‘often’ (with a silent ‘T’) or ‘often’ (with an explicit ‘T’), ‘decathlon’ or ‘decathlon’ (with the stress on different syllables). Try to say ‘kill-AW-meter’ before Filippenko, and inevitably, he will correct you. “A ‘kill-AW-meter’ is an instrument that measures kilos, like a barometer, odometer, speedometer. In contrast, a KILL-o-meter is a unit of measurement, like a centimeter, decimeter, hectometer,” he’d say.
In an interview with The Times of India, Filippenko candidly shares lessons from his experiences in academia, research, and life.
Filippenko’s journey with astronomy started as a happenstance. When he was 14, his parents bought him his first telescope. One night, he found Saturn, all by himself. Many had seen Saturn before, but that night, Filippenko felt as if he had found it for others, and had pushed the frontiers of human knowledge. More than Saturn, Filippenko experienced the joy of discovering something new. That set him on a path of discovering celestial beauties. Since then, he has published more than 900 papers, given more than 1000 public lectures, and has found the accelerating expansion of the Universe (he was the only member of both teams that discovered this phenomenon — the team leaders were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2011).
Thus, as a stellar researcher himself, Filippenko shares important qualities for being a good one. “A good researcher thinks carefully about a problem; it’s not just some assignment,” he says. Next, be well-prepared for setbacks, because “science is not a linear process.” Setbacks aren’t necessarily bad because, they teach humility and make you appreciate the difficulty in finding nature’s secrets. A thoughtful researcher doesn’t jump to conclusions, but is rather “receptive to strange, alternative ways of explanations.” For example, when Filippenko and his team discovered the faint supernovae, they methodically ruled out factors like dust, luminosity, and evolution, before moving on. And only after they’d considered all statistical uncertainties, did they publish their paper about the accelerating expansion of the Universe. Which is another core quality: Don’t be afraid to be wrong. Filippenko talks about Google X, where the motto is to “fail fast.”
Second, Filippenko talks about workaholism. In his younger days, Filippenko worked for most of the time. 100-hour weeks, for starters. Although that gave him personal satisfaction, he later realized that excessive work could drive one away from personal commitments. Hence, when young, “go at it,” but once you’re older, “don’t be afraid to slow down,” he says. Filippenko also hopes that a balanced life is rewarded more than a professionally successful one. For the latter often comes at the cost of familial commitments, something that Filippenko deeply cares about.
Third, “Make use of opportunities that fall in your lap.” Since 1979, Filippenko has not only created opportunities for himself but has also leveraged existing ones. That, he says, is integral to success. For example, in 1979, Filippenko made use of an opportunity which got him to watch his first solar eclipse with his then mentor-professor, Stanton Peale. Fillipenko calls it “an indescribable experience,” and since then, he hasn’t missed any solar eclipse. Following that, he vicariously experienced the thrill of “discovery” as he watched Peale predict tidal forces on Io (Jupiter’s moon), just days before the Voyager confirmed them. He expresses gratitude toward his mentors and professors: Wallace Sargeant, Richard Feynman, and Hyron Spinrad, influential figures in Filippenko’s career path, and establishes why making use of existing opportunities is essential to success.
Now, you might wonder why, despite his achievements, Filippenko only teaches an introductory course in astronomy, when he could be doing extensive research. Two reasons. One, Filippenko thinks of astronomy as a “gateway science” which has the highest potential to attract children; they may not become astronomers and may end up as computer scientists or biologists, but in doing so, Filippenko feels he has served society well. Two, since he is grateful to American taxpayers who fund research, he feels a sense of duty to introduce astronomy to the general public, an ability he believes he has greater than most of his colleagues. He continues to excite freshmen and sophomores at UC Berkeley, something that has won him the best professor award for a record 9 times.
Filippenko’s passion for the universe is not limited to only explaining it to students, though. When asked about his plans for space travel, he says he’d love to travel to space, provided a guaranteed safe return. At the same time, though, he doesn’t rule out a one-way trip. If he were ever go to Mars — never to come back again — he has already planned how he would send selfies via radio signals.
Filippenko’s experiments with the universe continue till date. And so does his struggle with incorrect pronunciation. He cringes at the thought of saying “often” with an explicit T, and is excited at the thought of discovering supernovae every night. In either case, he wants to further the boundaries of human knowledge, all the while making everyone appreciate the beauty of the universe, something that has helped everyone to appreciate how little we know, and how much more there is to know. Filippenko’s passion for astronomy keeps him young, driven, and motivated, while keeping others excited about discovering secrets of the universe.
We’re glad someone found Saturn that night.