The Noblest Lesson

Abstract

![Figure][1] CREDIT: PETER AND MARIA HOEY/WWW.PETERHOEY.COM One morning this past October, I woke up to find an email from my father. Reading the subject line, I immediately burst into tears. My father, Robert Kirshner, is an astronomy professor at Harvard University. The subject of his e-mail was, “My Students won the Nobel Prize!” A News Focus story about that prize—awarded for the discovery of the acceleration of the expanding universe ([ 1 ][2])—later described me as being angry. I wasn't angry. I was freaked out. I was worried because I knew my father to be incredibly competitive. (His cutthroat Monopoly playing style famously made my grandmother, his mother-in-law, cry.) But more important, I knew that he had dedicated the majority of his life's work to this project. I grew up watching my father's passion for science, his determination to understand things, the thrill he felt when he was able to synthesize ideas and understand the bigger picture. He has inspired me and taught me. And I was worried that by not getting the Nobel Prize for his contribution to this discovery, he would feel as though he had somehow failed. But as it turns out, his response to not winning is the lesson I really value. When I spoke to him that morning, he amazed me: He was proud of the people he has worked with and taught; he was generous-spirited; he was funny; and he had perspective. What a relief! It turns out that a guy who spent his life trying to understand the immensity of the universe could put into perspective the relative importance of which particular earthling took home the ribbons and the medals and got to bow to the King of Sweden. It turns out that what was really important to him was the work itself, the wonder of this extraordinary universe, the honor and the fun of trying to figure things out, and maybe, just a little bit, the thrill of the chase. I admire all the terrific scientists who contributed to this greater understanding of the universe we live in, but in particular I admire my father, whose expansive understanding of what really matters taught me something of astronomical importance. 1. [↵][3] 1. Y. Bhattacharjee , Science 336, 26 (2012). [OpenUrl][4][Abstract/FREE Full Text][5] [1]: pending:yes [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [4]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DScience%26rft.stitle%253DScience%26rft.issn%253D0036-8075%26rft.aulast%253DBhattacharjee%26rft.auinit1%253DY.%26rft.volume%253D336%26rft.issue%253D6077%26rft.spage%253D26%26rft.epage%253D31%26rft.atitle%253DA%2BWeek%2Bin%2BStockholm%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1126%252Fscience.336.6077.26%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F22491838%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [5]: /lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiQUJTVCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6Mzoic2NpIjtzOjU6InJlc2lkIjtzOjExOiIzMzYvNjA3Ny8yNiI7czo0OiJhdG9tIjtzOjI0OiIvc2NpLzMzNi82MDg0Lzk3OS4yLmF0b20iO31zOjg6ImZyYWdtZW50IjtzOjA6IiI7fQ==