Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life

by Ozan Varol

Einstein described his own discovery process in similar terms: “Our final results appear almost self-evident,” he said, “but the years of searching in the dark for a truth that one feels, but cannot express; the intense desire and the alternations of confidence and misgiving, until one breaks through to clarity and understanding, are only known to him who has himself experienced them.”14 In some cases, scientists keep stumbling around in the dark room, and the search continues well past their lifetime. Even when they find the light switch, it may illuminate only part of the room, revealing that the remainder is far bigger—and far darker—than they imagined. But to them, stumbling around in the dark is far more interesting than sitting outside in well-lit corridors.