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In many cases, it is a lack of knowledge that stands in the way of solving important societal challenges. Several of those who have made the biggest difference throughout history have been researchers. Nobel laureate Karl Landsteiner discovered the blood groups and thus enabled hundreds of millions of life-saving operations. Alan Turing helped the Allies develop code-breaking machines during World War II, which made the work against Nazi submarines more effective. Some historians estimate that this contributed to D-Day (when Allied troops landed in Normandy, France) a year earlier than it would have otherwise. Since World War II claimed 10 million lives a year, Turing may have contributed to saving 10 million lives. In addition, he developed the computer!
When new ideas are discovered, they can be spread incredibly cheaply. A single career can therefore change an entire field. Furthermore, ideas accumulate over time, which means that research contributes to a significant part of the progress that humanity makes in the long term. At the same time, relatively few engage in research. Only 0.1 percent of the world’s population are academics, and that percentage has been even smaller throughout history.
That so few people are scientists is what we might expect based on economic theory. Most do not become rich even if their discoveries are extremely valuable. Alan Turing did not make any money developing the computer, although today it is an industry with a turnover of billions. The benefits of research lie in the future and cannot usually be protected by patents. There are thus few commercial incentives to conduct research in relation to how important it is. This career path is therefore a promising opportunity for people who care more about improving the world than profit.
If you can free up 10% more time for a person whose research makes a huge difference, then the value of your work equals the extra progress made in that time. For the world, the important thing is not who does the research, but that it is done.
Really good researchers accomplish much more than average ones, which is why this option is especially promising for those who are well-suited for it. Most scientific articles have only one citation, while the most well-cited have over a thousand. If you have the potential to become one of the 10% most successful researchers in an important problem area, that is probably where you can have the greatest impact. Here we would like to emphasize that this does not apply to just any research, but precisely to research that involves progress in important problem areas.
