Some lessons

I am about to complete Basil Mahon’s The man who changed everything: the life of James Clerk Maxwell. It is a great book, written in a wonderful style. The book is a must-read. In this short post, I want to talk about a few things that might be of relevance to us from the life and work of Maxwell.

(1) Political and financial support for science

From the story of how Cavendish laboratory is built, it is clear that the commitment to building a laboratory such as Cavendish with the mandate to produce top class research and the financial and political support needed to bring it to fruition is as much important as Maxwell’s own contribution. Strangely, Maxwell was apparently, the third choice for the job; and, it seems, he himself was doubtful about accepting the position. But it is clear that when there are sustained efforts, such small uncertainties in decisions get evened out in the long run. I think this is an important lesson for us; given the pushes and pulls of the day, a clear vision and mandate, with all the required economic and political support is needed if we want to excel in science, engineering and technology.

(2) Allowing people to pursue their own thoughts

From the Cavendish story, it is again very clear that leaders who are more committed to the subject than their own work or viewpoint can make a huge difference to the quality of the work. Mahon is very clear that Maxwell was more interested in building a top class laboratory than in building a Maxwell school and the results bear testimony to his approach.

(3) History of science is as important as science itself

Finally, how the ideas come up and are modified and are debated and accepted or rejected is very important for early career students and researchers to know. This not only removes the mystery of how these ideas came us in the first place but also gives confidence to the students to question everything as well as think of solutions for themselves with confidence.

There is much more in the book of Mahon. It is a wonderful read. It is made all the more fascinating for me because of the two connections that Maxwell had with a couple of my other scientific heroes — Faraday and Gibbs. Once again, strongly recommended!