<p>Prompt: Are all important discoveries the result of focusing on one subject?</p>
<p>Most people tend to think that an important discovery is a result of focusing on a certain subject and persevering to make a finding. Moreover, the greates experts who made scuh discoveris are often hailed as being professional at one specific subject. But for me, things are quite different. While there are many acheivements from a sole focus on one subject, numerous significant discoveries are often the result of an amalgam of many fields. To recognize that eclecticism also leads to great discoveries, we need look no further than examples of Gregory Mendel and Dougls Hofsdadter.</p>
<p>Gregory Mendel, a famous biologist who established the Mendel's Law, clearly illustrates how experience working on different subjects contributes to discoveries. Although he was living in a monastery, he was also an amateur mathematician, having earned a degree before becoming a monk. Then, when he started growing beans, he recognized a distinct pattern emerging in their growth and appearances. While other biologist without sufficient mathematical training would have been appalled by the overwhelming data about the beans, Mendel was different--he used tables and graphs to organize the collected data and utilized his mathematical acumen to deduce and establish the famous Mendel's Law. It is later said by biographers tha had Mendel not received proper education in mathematics, he would not have succeeded in forming the most important law in genetics. In other words, Gregory Mendel was able to make his discovery in biology because he already was equipped with sufficient mathematical knowledge.</p>
<p>Douglas Hofstadter, also an amateur mathematician, is another scholar who made an important discovery by drawing from various subjects--this time in music. Analyzing Bach's music, for example, the he found a distinct pattern-namely chaos-in the variations and confluence of the chords. This was an important discovery that clearly showed how mathematics, a seemingly disparate subject, was in fact clearly linked with music. He also made a similar observation with Beethoven's and Schumann's, as he applied Set theory to the sonatas and symphonies. The result? A completely new formation of a new field called "musical set theory." In short, Hoftstater illustrates how using several subjects as resources--for him they were music and mathematics--greatly contributes to making a discovery.</p>
<p>It is tempting to believe that concentrating on one subject will definitely lead to a great discovery. But Mendel and Hofstater show otherwise. Of course, if they didn't have any expertise in at least one of the subjects, they wouldn't have contributed with their findings. But what we can know for sure is that drawing from various subjects can definitely lead to important discoveries.</p>
<p>**Thank you for reading. Telll me if you want me to read yours!</p>
<p>Cheers!</p>
<p>SM</p>