Think Like a Rocket Scientist

Though it takes effort, you can and should learn to think like a rocket scientist – that is, creatively and critically.

Scientists think differently than the average person; they put earthly concerns into universe-level perspective. In the face of seemingly intractable problems, they see opportunity. They doubt and test commonly accepted facts and assumptions, including their own, and they resist quick wins to achieve long-term breakthroughs. As the pace of change and disruption quickens in every domain, and misinformation proliferates, this kind of thinking grows more essential – for rocket scientists and everyone else.

The universe remains deeply mysterious, filled almost entirely with dark matter and dark energy. Rocket scientists, therefore, embrace uncertainty. Consider that a Mars rover requires six minutes to descend from the top of Mars’s atmosphere and land, but it takes 12 minutes for transmissions to travel to Earth at the speed of light, and a further 12 minutes for return communications to make the reverse journey. During the intervening time, the rover flies blind. NASA’s scientists and engineers have to cope...