If Einstein were a Plumber!

If I would be a young man again and had to decide how to make my living, I would not try to become a scientist or scholar or teacher. I would rather choose to be a plumber or a peddler in the hope to find the modest degree of independence still available under pressure circumstances.

                 --------In a letter by Albert Einstein to the editor of The Reporter about the situation of scientists in America (13 October 1954).

In the vol. 2 of JSTOR, of autumn 1960, I found the following interesting lines on page no. 69-79:

"The analogy of a plumber to a religious researcher seems relevant on two levels: first, a plumber is usually called when the client first notices something wrong in the form of a faulty faucet or a leaky pipe and he is called in reference to the faucet or the leak, not the whole house. Second, a plumber is  problem solver; that is, he is expected to fix the faucets or the leaks, not merely to diagnose the situation and present the facts."

The journal then became a talking matter.

"Do-it-yourself", is a mantra of a good researcher. A hands-on experience is thus expected. A good plumber is one who has hands on experience too. 

Plumber has to deal with different types of drawings and sketches to deal with any layout and should be able to estimate the work. A researcher has the same requirements, but the estimate of work is little fuzzy.

A good plumber should be able to dictate the work to fellow plumbers. Need I say that a good researcher should have leadership qualities too, so as to instruct other scholars and to be an investigator.

The plumber should know how to use tools. Feel free to think the same about a researcher. 

The Einstein's sentence became very popular during that time and after this remark was reported, the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union A.F.L. in Washington D.C. voted to grant Einstein an honorary membership, and a New York plumbers’ local presented him with a gold-plated set of plumbers’ tools. Research is always respected and honored!!!




(As published in VSRC Annual Magazine: Link Here)