I am fascinated by the process inherent in science. It's so organized and yet so chaotic. On the one hand you have neat arrays of test-tubes, the beautiful clarity of the periodic table and sexy white lab coats. On the other hand you have the repetition of experiments gone wrong and the drama of funding crises. And those lab coats don't stay white for long.
From my non-linear perspective science is inherently squiggly. Full to bursting with possibility, intuition, failure and doubt: the great stories in the science field are epic quests that find glory only after considerable failure.
And Marie Curie's story is no exception. In fact it's exceptional. A pioneer in the field of radioactivity, she discovered two new chemical elements: polonium and radium. She also carried out the first research into the treatment of tumors with radiation.
She was the first woman ever awarded a Nobel prize. She was awarded a second Nobel prize in 1911. She is the only woman to be honored with two Nobel prizes. She is the only person awarded a Nobel prize in two different scientific fields (Physics then Chemistry).
She was doubted by her peers. She was initially not recognized for her work. She struggled to get financing for her research. Even when the work was laborious, prolonged and, as it would later be discovered, deadly. At every step, she was undeterred from her instincts.
But wait, there's more.
Marie Curie later worked near battlefields with her daughter, Irène Curie, using radiology medical units to X-ray wounded soldiers in WW1. These units supported the medical treatment over approximately 1 million soldiers over the course of the war. Irène Joliot-Curie, was subsequently awarded a Nobel prize in 1935 for her discovery of artificial radioactivity.
Marie Curie accomplished most of her work solo after her husband was killed when he was run down by a carriage. I mean you can’t make this stuff up. She suffered adversity throughout her life. Her curiosity and immense capability immunized her from the notion of defeat. Her love of science was a greater force than the weight of any obstacle.
She captured the power of curiosity so perfectly saying, "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."
I love stories like this. Fear is no match for a curious mind. Defeat is not possible when you are relentless in pursuit of your life's mission.