I think the shot of adrenaline to the ego is what gives the sense of high in most cases, and what motivates most scientists. And it probably is almost entirely the source of the high of the non-world changing and minor discoveries.
Having said that, I do think that in some cases, very few, there is perhaps a stronger element of what Eliezer briefly touched on towards the end of the essay: that one has just added to the sum total of humanity’s knowledge, and inched us toward the perfect understanding of the world around us that science constantly seeks.
To think that one has just discovered something that will affect all of humanity for the rest of time by adding to the knowledge we have and providing a foundation for all knowledge that builds upon it is a dizzying thought, and I think the high is not only that “I’m such a genius and I’ll be remembered forever and be envied by all my contemporaries”, but also consists in the realization of the incalculable consequences of what you have just discovered.
Of course, this applies to discoveries of the nature of Newton or Darwin, rather than lesser discoveries, and I’d attribute the high of lesser discoveries to more egocentric thoughts. (And perhaps in Newton’s case as well, since he was an quite a self-centered individual, but that’s another subject.)
To summarize, while it may be that the ego-centered explanations of the high is the dominant explanation in all minor or trivial discoveries, and is present in all greater discoveries, in some cases, the high may be even more strongly based on the sense of steering the future of mankind, or at least science, of leading us into new territory. If it feels good to help an old lady across the street, how would it feel to give a gift to the trillions of human beings that do not yet exist? And this explains why the high is probably that much greater—at least upon reflection—for something that one thinks might not have been discovered for a long time otherwise, as opposed to the things that were in the air at the time and would certainly have been discovered in the very near future by somebody else (e.g., Archimedes’ method of exhaustion [if he’d have sensed the implications], close to the modern use of limits in calculus and analysis, versus Watson/Crick who were racing to beat Linus Pauling).
I think the shot of adrenaline to the ego is what gives the sense of high in most cases, and what motivates most scientists. And it probably is almost entirely the source of the high of the non-world changing and minor discoveries.
Having said that, I do think that in some cases, very few, there is perhaps a stronger element of what Eliezer briefly touched on towards the end of the essay: that one has just added to the sum total of humanity’s knowledge, and inched us toward the perfect understanding of the world around us that science constantly seeks.
To think that one has just discovered something that will affect all of humanity for the rest of time by adding to the knowledge we have and providing a foundation for all knowledge that builds upon it is a dizzying thought, and I think the high is not only that “I’m such a genius and I’ll be remembered forever and be envied by all my contemporaries”, but also consists in the realization of the incalculable consequences of what you have just discovered.
Of course, this applies to discoveries of the nature of Newton or Darwin, rather than lesser discoveries, and I’d attribute the high of lesser discoveries to more egocentric thoughts. (And perhaps in Newton’s case as well, since he was an quite a self-centered individual, but that’s another subject.)
To summarize, while it may be that the ego-centered explanations of the high is the dominant explanation in all minor or trivial discoveries, and is present in all greater discoveries, in some cases, the high may be even more strongly based on the sense of steering the future of mankind, or at least science, of leading us into new territory. If it feels good to help an old lady across the street, how would it feel to give a gift to the trillions of human beings that do not yet exist? And this explains why the high is probably that much greater—at least upon reflection—for something that one thinks might not have been discovered for a long time otherwise, as opposed to the things that were in the air at the time and would certainly have been discovered in the very near future by somebody else (e.g., Archimedes’ method of exhaustion [if he’d have sensed the implications], close to the modern use of limits in calculus and analysis, versus Watson/Crick who were racing to beat Linus Pauling).