Are Scientists Born or Made?

Are Scientists Born or Made?

I was reflecting on a meeting I had with a potential new client the other day, where I had taken them through my background and work history, and wondered “Why does this talk always make me smile?

I know we all like to talk about ourselves (some of us more than others), but what was it about recounting my back story that always seemed to bring me joy?

I concluded that not only was it because each role was linked to something scientific, but also because at each stage the rules were not ‘set in stone’. 

I was either researching something new, or developing a new product, or using a novel technique to solve an established problem – ‘newness’ linked with creativity was the key.

This made me wonder:  

Was it that I was born with this ‘need for new’ already in me, and I have just been fulfilling my reason to be?  Or…

Was it a skill that I had learned in school and have just been cultivating it all this time through continuous learning and repeated exposure?

Was I born a scientist?  Or was I made?