What neuroscience need is theory.

I was extremely fortunate to be shared with this wisdom very early on in my career.

I listened, so I decided to become the first biology/chemistry HKUSTer to graduate with a double major in computer science; but it wasn’t untill much later that I realize how hard the task is.

I still remember this conversation with a speaker (who works on epilepsy):

“There are so many dimensions to a brain function and disease. How do you choose where to start? How do you reason about which dimension or what combination of dimensions are the best to start?”

“Pick one, gather evidence, reflect, change plan as needed, then march on. “

It took me quite some exploration: probing the place cells in a rat, wrestling with monkeys, tethering flies, analyzing the entire brain of larval zebrafish… I’ve now found my starting point of attempting to build that theory. How far along will I make it? No clue. I’m just certain I’ll bring home more questions than answers.