I had ruled out a scientific career because I didn't think I would fit, but this experience has shown me that maybe I was wrong. I had imagined the atmosphere at Los Alamos National Laboratory to be tense and secretive, like the Manhattan Project. I pictured the scientists there to be lab rats - boring and unsociable, or rather too focused on their work to have any sort of life beyond science. I soon discovered how erroneous my expectations were. LANL is bursting with activity and enthusiasm.
Ideas flow freely in the cafeteria, in the offices, and in the lab.
There is constant exchange of knowledge and lively argument. We had a chance to experience the astrophysicists debate, and it was extremely exciting. Unlike laboratory work in which the variables are easily identified, we were placed in a four dimensional reality and then asked to consider all the aspects of our surroundings. Quite often the situation prohibited ideal measurements, either due to steep terrain, excessive undergrowth, constricted passages, or group fatigue. Improvisation and choice became necessary aspects of the research.