How is it even possible for us to discover new things? We compete against a faceless mass of researchers around the world, working around the clock on the same problems that we stare at fruitlessly day after day. It seems vain, almost contemptuous, for us to believe that tomorrow will be different; that tomorrow will bring a spark of inspiration that we will be able to nurture into something of significance, against all odds and against all of our prior experience. And yet, I must smile and remain the eternal optimist.