tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7104200726685373797.post659030008798541559..comments2023-04-13T03:37:46.691-07:00Comments on i9606: decoded - first few chaptersBenjamin Goodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11241205744976358428noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7104200726685373797.post-16434134776556084902008-07-11T15:53:00.000-07:002008-07-11T15:53:00.000-07:00Good tool builders are also on the leading edge. E...Good tool builders are also on the leading edge. Even those that promote open source still have the competitive advantage of understanding the tools better than everyone else. Examples of great tool builders doing great research include Sean Eddy, Ewan Birney and David Baker.Pedro Beltraohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12177733941831975048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7104200726685373797.post-83132607912452977122008-07-09T20:38:00.000-07:002008-07-09T20:38:00.000-07:00Thanks for the very inspirational and uplifting co...Thanks for the very inspirational and uplifting comments ;). <BR/><BR/>I will bear them in mind as I think about my next steps - either deeper into or out of academia. Something tells me I like building things too much to ever truly be a 'real' scientist...Benjamin Goodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11241205744976358428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7104200726685373797.post-10050737596099193702008-07-09T20:12:00.000-07:002008-07-09T20:12:00.000-07:00Great perspective. I understand where you're comin...Great perspective. I understand where you're coming from. Two quotes I try live by assuage the ego in those jealous times:<BR/><BR/>"The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one." —Wilhelm Stekel<BR/><BR/>"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it!" —Mahatma GandhiAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01078483442220289712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7104200726685373797.post-34965378285980670092008-07-09T19:38:00.000-07:002008-07-09T19:38:00.000-07:00I lament with you! The question is: do you want ...I lament with you! The question is: do you want to do research or enable the research of others? If the first, then look at computational biology as just a toolkit, to help you answer questions. If the second, then take every opportunity to remind your peers that tool builders are every bit as important as tool users and be passionate about what you do.<BR/><BR/>I'm afraid that academia does not reward, understand or appreciate tool builders. If that weighs on your mind, keep your job options open!Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14642902803329530119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7104200726685373797.post-58417195228543518342008-06-30T02:28:00.000-07:002008-06-30T02:28:00.000-07:00on Duncans quote and your "This might be the essen...on Duncans quote and your "This might be the essence of the bioinformatician's lament. ", may I encourage you then be refreshing your mind about the 1998 Nobel laureates in chemistry, Kohn and Pople (<A HREF="http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1998/press.html" REL="nofollow">press release</A> )? Pople got it thanks to "...his development of computational methods in quantum chemistry" and "Pople made his computational technics easily accessible to researchers by designing the GAUSSIAN computer program. The first version was published in 1970. The program has since been developed and is now used by thousands of chemists in universities and commercial companies the world over". <BR/><BR/>So a computational biologist or bioinformatician can receive a nobel prize. It's just that just-another-database/ontology won't do; I guess neither another perl script or the like, nor reusing existing technology. What would? well, apparently something that's not out there yet and that also lets you bump into a significant discovery that could not have been made without just that tech you've developed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com