A Lesson from Linus Pauling

I was just telling my daughter’s best friend (pictured here facing my camera, perhaps seven years ago) about Linus Pauling, how remarkable he was, and what we can all learn from his incredible life. One important lesson is that we shouldn’t rule out the validity and importance of an idea, simply on the basis that it didn’t come from an expert in the field.

Pauling was an extremely important figure in quantum chemistry and won a Nobel Prize for his work in the field. Later in his life, he began to study biochemistry and molecular biology, and wrote papers promoting the importance of Vitamin C in human health. The biochemists laughed. “This isn’t your area,” they mocked. “What are you going to do next? Write a book on art history?”

Well, as everyone knows, as it turns out Pauling was completely correct.

I try to keep this in mind when it comes to evaluating all the new concepts I receive associated with renewable energy; I try not even to look at the background of the person, but rather to focus on the idea itself.