A Lifetime of Curiosity
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- Datuk Dr. Robert F. Inger published his first scientific paper in 1942 and hasn't looked back since. I'm inspired by his dedication to science, and his commitment to curiosity - and although it's impossible to cover his 74+ year career in a 10-minute video, I hope you'll take away the lesson I did: never stop asking questions and seeking answers!
NEW!! Brain Scoop Merch: bit.ly/29J9SJw
Thank you to Alan Resetar, Fui Lian, Rachel Grill, and Greg Mercer for their help in making this video possible. And to Dr. Inger, for being an inspiration to so many scientists and researchers around the globe: thank you for your work and legacy!
Read more about Dr. Inger: bit.ly/29uaTEN
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Producer, Writer, Creator, Host:
Emily Graslie
Editor, Graphics, Sound:
Sheheryar Ahsan
Camera:
Greg Mercer
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This episode is supported by and filmed on location at:
The Field Museum in Chicago, IL
(www.fieldmuseum...)
And made possible with help from the Harris Family Foundation.
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"There are still things I don't know" -- Robert Inger, PhD.
That is my new motto to drive me in my life right there!
"And they're still interesting questions to ask."
i love this man!!
"And there are still interesting questions to ask." The essence of a scientific mind: basically, stay curious. An inspiration to us all.
This is the motto of the scientific research my friend. And those who are interested in this field are filled with a cynic curiosity that will drive them to knowledge.
Religion doesn't have that problem!
I thought just the same :,)
Emily- "What does keep you coming back to work on these frogs?"
Dr. Inger- "Well, there's still things I don't know."
Removal of the forest. I could feel the sadness in his voice his whole body stooped like that of a man defeated and helpless in face of onslaught
Wow! I almost became a biologist because my appreciation for frogs (I really like frogs) and insects.
I think we all can say, miss Graslie, you resonated when Dr. Inger said: "there's still things I don't know and there's still interesting questions to ask". Well, we all. :)
The original interview was something like 1.25 hrs long so there's a lot that didn't make it in the final video! How do you cover a seven-decade-long career?
Can you upload the full interview? Would love to watch it
please upload the whole interview!
Seeing the entire interview would be incredible.
I'll bet there is a bottomless well of interesting stories to be heard from the people who work there and The Field Museum could not have found a better spokesperson.
Excellent interview Emily!
i always amazed how most of scientist on the old age still have amazing memories. i guess scientist brain trained so much their brain did not (or less) affected by age related cognitive decline
it is often not memory which declines with age, but the ability to gain new skills and ways of thinking. I believe it is generally accepted that crystalline intelligence (ie long term memory and ability to remember facts) keeps increasing with age, especially the ability to remember things from a long time ago.
I am pretty sure old academica have a sharper and more agile mind than the gen.pop., but they too have a very noticeable stall in their ability to learn new skills or systems of thought.
***** i have to disagree with you here. because i believe in the "use it or lose it" principle. even the top scientist in neurology did not know 100% about how brain works. and im not sure the thing that you called "Crystalline intelligence" keep increasing with age. i mean we don't have data on that matter
Eko ari wibowo
You can disagree all you want, but this is literally text-book material in psychology. It's very well established both experimentally and theoretically.
Let me just cite one meta-analysis on this topic:
"In contrast to fluid ability, crystallized ability has been found to increase with age throughout most of adulthood (e.g., Harwood & Naylor, 1971; Horn, 1998; Horn & Cattell, 1967; Horn & Hofer, 1992; Kaufman et al., 2008; Rabbitt & Abson, 1991; Schaie, 1996; Stankov, 1988; Stankov & Horn, 1980; Wang & Kaufman, 1993). Gc has been estimated to increase until approximately age 70 (Schaie, 1996), after which it may decrease slightly. However, some studies (e.g.Harwood & Naylor, 1971) have found that Gc may continue to increase even into the 80s.Along these same lines, compared with young adults, middle-aged adults have been found to score significantly higher on assessments of domain-specific knowledge(Ackerman, 2000). Given that Gc demonstrates little or no decline throughout much of the age range, Horn and colleagues (Horn, 1991; Horn & Blankson, 2005) have referred to it as a maintained ability. Evidence also suggests that long-term memory (Glm/TSR) and reading/writing (Grw) are also maintained abilities (Horn & Blankson, 2005; Kaufman et al., 2008). A summary of the age differences in broad abilities during adulthood is presented in Figure 11 (from Horn, 1986, p. 52, Figure 2.3). "
(Bennet Postlethwaite, "Fluid ability, crystallized ability, and performance across multiple domains: a meta-analysis" (PhD Diss., University of Iowa, 2011). Online: ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2639&context=etd)
***** i've read the reverence that you cited. i see brain aging from biological standpoint and the most widely seen cognitive change associated with ageing is that of memory. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2596698/
i think we are not comparing apple to apple here. because your article is used for human resource research and not about aging and brain activities.
I think everyone should aspire to find something they enjoy doing as much as Dr. Inger enjoys his work.
I hope that when I am that old I can still be partcipating in sceince and helping people this man is an excellent example of dedication
"Well, there's still things I don't know!" Amazing end to this amazing interview!
You really need to post the entire interview somewhere. Also the museum needs to spend more time interviewing Dr. Inger. He is a fountain of knowledge and it would be a shame to not save as much as possible.
Most inspirational line "There are still things i don't know. More questions to be asked" and then it just cuts to black. I just thought, "what? Nooooo! It can't be over yet!"
Had to give a like.
Haha, yeah. Did feel a bit abrupt. I was still sitting here all starry-eyed, relishing those words. Cut to..
*"BOMP! BOMP! Ba-DUN! BOMP! BOMP! Baaa-DUN!"*
i love all his stories of field research -- all of these wonderful bits don't generally come across in finalized/published studies.
Please put up the full interview when you can! It would be fascinating to see!
I'm glad you guys are exposing his awesome work to all of us on RUclips. I'd like to see a full documentary on his career
"There are still things I don't know and there are still interesting questions to ask". Outstanding answer. I would listen to the whole interview if you publish it.
"Well there are still things I don't know." Such a simple, humble answer, but so profound coming from someone with such a history. He reminds me of Dr Ian Player.
interesting stuffs about jungle leeches - some hang around tree leaves and dropped on you when you walk under it, even tho they dont have eyes.
great thanks for the extra nightmare fuel
jk I really like leeches! They're neat.
and stretchy too XD
I think I've discovered my source of "Nope!" Leeches qualified. I had to switch tabs.
Still, fascinating video.
this leeches are starting to sound a lot like ninjas.....lol
What a great interview! Thank you for giving us this glimpse into Dr. Inger's fascinating life. To be 96 and still working on frogs is remarkable!
This interview is great - he's had such an amazing experience! I wish more scientists/researchers were as enthusiastic about and dedicated to their art as Dr. Inger!
Emily, this episode is now added to my list of "The Brainscoop" favorites. Thank you so much. Dr. Inger is a gem of a guy, isn't he?
His last words in this video got me chills down my spine.!!! Amazing!! Truly an inspiration
There's still things I don't know and there is still interesting questions to ask. That is a wonderful testament!
Bob miss you and fui lian very much. Thanks for all the trainings, knowledge and opportunity. You are indeed my lifetime sifu. From Borneo with Love.
Terrific interview. Always great hearing first hand stories from old timey zoologists. Even those with illustrious careers can go unnoticed. Thanks for bringing him to peoples attention, he deserves recognition for a career advancing science, like so many others do.
This is pretty much the BEST thing.
I love the stories, and the pictures of old timey science work in the forest are amazing to see.
What a guy!! Still going in at that age. That's passion and curiousity.
I can only imagine how much editing went into this. He seems a little all over the place. I'm sure a nap took place at some point.
But seriously! What a fantastic interview!
I don't know much, but THAT man is full of win!
How inspiring! This showed me how fulfilling a job can be. I'm kind of envious of his drive and his motivation after all these years.
Wow...what a person! Never stop being curious. Thanks Emily!
This is so inspiring. I remember my thesis adviser, Dr. Mariano Estoque, Philippine's first meteorologist, still teaches at the age of 94 and still better than anyone I know.
Hat's off to you,Dr.Inger!
You're right. Bob and Fui Lian Please Stay Healthy and thanks a lot Sifu.
What an amazing interview and episode! Thank you, Datuk Dr. Inger, for sharing your experiences with us. And thanks, Emily for being such an incredible Curiosity Correspondent!! =D
A very inspirational man with a lot of knowledge and an important message. It must have been great to talk with him and you did an awesome job of interviewing him!
What a lovely, interesting, inspiring gentleman. Thank you for sharing a little of his life story with us. I'd love to hear more - I bet he has some great anecdotes!
i lived in borneo a couple years ago for about a year, so i completely geeked out over this video!! thank you so much for this!!
Thank you so much for sharing this interview with us! It's so important that we get the perspective of our elders and predecessors when we can.
Thank you so much for doing this interview and making it available to us! :D
Best "Brain Scoop" episode yet!
There's a man who's never worked a day in his life.
Is it really work if you love what you do?
i want to grow up and be a person like him. I am a undergrad who just finished his degree in biotechnology. I dont have a single publication under my name, if i could get even 1 publication that would open the doors for me.
What a beautiful man! I wish I had something that had me so excited I'd still be doing it 12 years after I retire!
such a great episode, thanks for introducing us to Dr. Inger!
An inspiring example of wisdom and aging gracefully! Thank you so very much.
Great interview with an absolutely compelling character
When one live so long he walks through a lot of pain.
He sees the loved ones go one by one.
you got to respect him.
Wow, this man is pure gold!
Incredible interview! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing man with RUclips!
What an inspiring man. A full interview would be really good! :)
This is amazing! I hope y'all will do more of these interviews.
Great video! I'd love to see more of the interview, because it sounds like he had a lot more amazing stories to tell. I love the story of the leach stockings, how practical! And stylish ;)
Truely inspirational. Thank you for sharing this.
Wow. He has studied reptiles on a whole new SCALE
I forgot the frog puns I better HOP to it
such puns make me go HERP-a-derp
Thanks so much for sharing this, Emily!
Lovely! A very good video!I would love to see the full interview too!
What an amazing and inspirational man!
Oh I love Dr. Robert F. Inger!
that's wonderful. "well, there's still things to know".
Wonderful video Em! Loved every part of it
thank you for sharing this story. really enjoyed it
"There's still things I don't know... and there's still interesting questions to ask"
i would love to some day have a conversation with someone like him. I could literally sit down like a little child and listen to his stories all day. just wow , ps . English is not my first language.
Amazing experience, thank you for sharing!!
What an inspirational man, I hope to be like him someday
I pray to be this enthusiastic, and to have a mind this sharp, when I hopefully reach his age!
What an inspiring guy. Great video! 😁
It's cool to see you talk about a scientist's life and have them be there for it.
That answer at the end made my heart flutter. I now love this nonagenarian. :)
There are still things I don't know. Best part of the video, never stop learning.
Interesting that, even back in the US, he is referred to by the Malaysian title Datuk.
He should had title 'Tan Sri' rather than datuk. Title datuk nowadays overrated because ease of obtaining by connection with sultan/head of state rather than contribution in nation.
Source: My country messed up system of knightship.
nick is totally right, you can now pay for a datukship if you want. (it's a shady payment not like an officially advertised one)
Pretty inspiring dude and I really don't use the word inspiring a lot. Really impressive.
good video for my research students.... inspiring...
Great interview. Thanks.
Good work Emily. Brava.
Yay a new BrainScoop video!
What a fascinating man. I would love to have a conversation with him.
Thank you so much for this Video. His biography apears to me as remarkably relevant. A lot of young scientists, who are struggling with a changing global awareness of their scientific effort and their working reality or material interests (reproduction included) could profit form this story. Not only science but philosophy of science.
Amazing interview
What a remarkable man.
Awesome video as always!!
What an awesome dude!
a really inspiring young man
THIS is incredible!
This was fascinating.
This video is just about perfect. :)
And he was with us until 2019! 98 years old.
Great vid as always!
To my knowledge, correct me if I'm wrong, the title 'Datuk' is awarded to those who have earned it through their hard works. As for the people who buy the title, they were given the title Dato' instead. So there is a way to distinguish the real from the fake.
I appreciate he's a great scientist, but Dr F.Inger.... I'm still smiling.
Does this channel do animal dissections and necropsies anymore? Am I just missing them on a sister channel or something? I haven't seen any here in several months, and to be honest, that was the only reason I subscribed. While the scientific discussions are fascinating and I fully respect the efforts too few people are putting in to save wildlife and change how we view and class them scientifically, it's subjects that are being done by several other channels. Need more "inside looks" if you know what I mean. :)
Great video!
I bet those "pictures" from Dr Inger's Travels were Slides. Wow an Awesome and long "Career" but you can tell he Loved what he did. Still working on frogs.
What's the meaning of "Datuk Dr." ?
'Datuk' is an honorary Malaysian title he was given in recognition of his 50 years of work in Borneo. As I understand it, it's a bit like the British equivalent of a knighthood.
apparently is just a title of respect in Malaysia.
as in the dictionary: "(Sociology) (in Malaysia) a title denoting membership of a high order of chivalry"
Yes that is correct.
Source: my professor has one.
As what the replies say, that is correct! I'm Malaysian and the title "Datuk" is indeed a bit like knighthood :)
***** Neat! Thanks!
This is great!!!
This man is awesome!!!!!
I can only imagine the number of incredible stories this man could tell. Emily, i envy you.
Inspirational guy!
Nerdy shirt. Love it!
A living legend
3:16
kaloula baleata
also known as
the proto american
This is what I live for.
Amazing! ❤️🐸
That guy has handled so much formaldehyde that he's thoroughly preserved himself. =P