It’s not all about those eureka moments, says Professor Andrew Harrison, science is about incremental gains

The old adage “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” is particularly fitting when it comes to cutting-edge science. Research is an exercise in both teamwork and tenacity. At its core, science is about many people working together to make small steps forwards, hopefully towards the greater good.

The historical narrative of scientific endeavour is peppered with stories of lone geniuses revolutionising the world through astonishing feats of intellect.

In fact, it is far more accurate to recognise scientific breakthroughs as the culmination of years of effort and input from a number of individuals, all exploring various aspects of the problem. As Isaac Newton once said: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

On top of the ‘lone genius’ narrative, we also think of science in terms of ‘eureka’ moments – sudden flashes of genius that create scientific breakthroughs.

But science is far more about slow steps forward and chipping away at a problem until a solution begins to emerge. We generally come to discoveries, not through abrupt revelations, but moreso through many small findings that help to piece together a bigger picture.

To be a scientist, one must have passion, but also patience.

Both collaboration and perseverance are more important now than ever before, because the modern challenges scientists face are hugely complex.

Take viruses, for instance. We know that there are many more viruses on Earth than there are stars in the observable universe, and you could fit billions of them on a pinhead. To create antiviral medicine, scientists have to understand these complex structures in extraordinary detail.

This level of complexity requires input from all sides. One person alone cannot create the next wonder drug. One quick experiment will not yield the answer. It will require the contributions of many people picking away at the problem over time.

And this is not just true of biology. Nanotechnology, chemistry, archaeology: every area of science requires multiple research groups making many small steps forwards towards greater progress.

Of course, competition is also present within the science community. To achieve recognition and funding, research groups want to be the first to reach a new milestone. This can be good for science and may drive research forwards.

However, as scientists, we generally have far more to gain from working together for a common cause. That’s why we encourage coming together to discuss ideas through conferences, lectures and workshops. Sharing knowledge and exchanging ideas is crucial to allowing ideas and innovation to flourish.

Although there is the potential for one scientist to have one idea that changes the course of history, this notion is over-simplistic. The world around us is infinitely complex. The issues we face are multi-faceted and many-layered. And I believe that scientific endeavour is best served by individuals from different backgrounds coming together to chip away at the problem.

Research has the potential to overcome the great problems of our time – cancer, fuel sources, food provision. And when that happens, it will be the result, not of a lone genius or a single eureka moment, but of many scientists with ideas joining forces to push research forwards.

There’s no doubt that talented individuals can do extraordinary things, but ultimately science is better when we work together.

Professor Andrew Harrison is CEO of Diamond Light Source, the UK’s synchrotron science facility.