What is a eureka moment for a scientist?

Renowned biologist E.O. Wilson says his first big eureka moment occurred when he was a 9-year-old boy exploring Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. Learn more about how scientists make surprising discoveries by watching the video.

Transcript

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[MUSIC PLAYING] That all the stuff in nature that I had decided to dedicate my life to, probably as a park

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ranger or something like that, was actually the subject of a science. And it was all wound down together with evolutionary thought.

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That was a Eureka moment.

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Yes, I think that one of them-- quick succession.

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You, earlier before we sat down together, mentioned that you so enjoyed Rock Creek Park here in Washington.

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And as a nine-year-old boy, I-- and I was alone at first--

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I wandered out to Rock Creek Park intending to make that my jungle, in which even though I could not capture

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the tigers and creatures I heard about and saw in movies and so on, at least I could capture surrogates

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in the way of grasshoppers, ants, and so on, and spiders. And that was a bit of a Eureka moment.

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I got fixated on nature and looking at the diversity. Another Eureka moment was when I got to college.

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I went through sort of a rural and small town educational system in Alabama.

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And I discovered evolution when I got to the University of Alabama. And at that point, I discovered, to my great relief

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and illumination, that all the stuff in nature that I had decided to dedicate my life to, probably

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as a park ranger or something like that, was actually the subject of a science. And it was all wound bound together

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with evolutionary thought. That was a Eureka moment. And then, I guess, other Eureka moments

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that I've had have been great times in my life when I've discovered something surprising.

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I won't elaborate on those, but every scientist seeks those moments.

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It's the ultimate fix when something new suddenly appears before you or arrives in your mind

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when you put a few things together while you're walking down the hall to get a cup of coffee. [AUDIO LOGO]