Question: Do you like to communicate with other scientists?

Pawel Rulikowski answered on 10 Nov 2021:

Hi Ronan,
Yes, although it can be challenging at times. Scientists can be very strongly opinionated. To do something for long periods of time – like work on some specific problem you need to invest lots of your time and strength, so it is natural that you want to defend it. In science you must not to be afraid to be wrong and often not one answer is correct. Most scientists are very reluctant to give definitive answers as many problems are very complex and small changes in how the things are conducted can have big impact. Exchanging ideas with smart people (not necessarily scientists) is very good for you. One important skill is to be able to listen to what other have to say as when you speak you only repeat the things that you already know by listening you might learn something!
There is concept of scientific discourse – set of rules how to conduct such discussions and how to publish your research plus many conferences are in the great locations so you can see a bit of the world – I during my work and PhD traveled to Japan, Singapore, Germany, France, UK, Italy, USA and Mauritius.