Role Models for Scientists

When I was a teenager, I had posters of Dr. J and Michael Jordan all over my room. I wanted to do what they did when I grew up. Oh well... I'm sure others felt the same way about athletes or rock stars who they idolized. It's easy to capture images of athletes or entertainers doing their thing. You see posters or screen savers of Lebron James dunking, Travis Pastrana doing back flips on his motorcycle, Aretha Franklin singing, or Michael Phelps swimming.

I was wondering what kids who are really into science put up on their walls to fire themselves up. If you are an intellectual powerhouse and want to be a scientist or a Nobel Prize winner some day, what do the posters in your room look like? I imagine Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and Steven Hawking are popular figures, but how do you capture an image of a scientist at the moment of his peak performance like you do an athlete? Maybe it would be a portrait of a person in deep thought with their index finger pointing to their chin. Perhaps it would be a poster of someone sitting on a distinguished panel of experts at a medical conference waiting to answer a question. I don't know.

While I was looking for pictures of scientists online, I came across this one. I know that there are many beautiful women who are also extremely intelligent, but I have a sneaking suspicion that these two gals were hired for this photo for their looks as opposed to their multiple PHDs. Maybe I'm a sexist, judgemental pig, but my spidey senses tell me they are using all their brain power trying to determine what color the liquid in the test tube is.

I love sports and entertainment, but I am glad there are people who aspire to more noble occupations. They may not get the fame and fortune of the movie stars, but they certainly make the world a better place. So if you are one of those smart people working in a scientific field, my hat is off to you. If you are working on a vaccine to cure the common cold or trying to invent a new energy source, keep it up. One day you may be everyone's hero, but for now I'm sorry your posters suck.