{"id":164223,"date":"2024-02-15T11:41:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T10:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=164223"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:10","slug":"i-am-many-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/02\/15\/i-am-many-things\/","title":{"rendered":"I am many things"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the informal introductory meeting with a new PhD student came the surprising remark: \u2018I know you,\u2019 she said enthusiastically, \u2018from Erasmus Magazine\u2019. A moment of confusion followed, as I asked myself whether this related to a previous interview. To my surprise, she said: \u2018No, you\u2019re a columnist, aren\u2019t you?\u2019 Columnist? And then the penny dropped. Oh yes, I do write a column from time to time!<\/p>\n

\"\"

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>, \t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

This unexpected recognition set me thinking: might the reach of my columns be greater than the reach of my scientific publications? On campus, definitely, it seems. The realisation that people might see me more as a columnist than as a scientist touched a nerve, because I did not square with how I saw myself.<\/p>\n

I am a scientist who writes columns, not a columnist who does science. Scientists and columnists are both writers, analysts and researchers, but the objectives and methods of scientists and columnists are clearly different. As a scientist, I strive for objectivity and the expansion of knowledge, whereas as a columnist, I share my subjective experiences and try to persuade.<\/p>\n

The longer I think about it, the more questions emerge. Who am I? And how do other people see me? Columnist or scientist: my identity seems to be different all the time, depending on where I am and what role I am fulfilling at any given moment. Nevertheless, who I am is in essence the same, because my standards, values and thoughts do not depend on my role; and what I write in my columns is also often informed by scientific knowledge or an analytical approach.<\/p>\n

So, while I continue to consider who I am in the various roles I fulfil, I recognise that my identity cannot be pigeonholed. My identity is dynamic and stable at the same time. As a scientist and columnist, I am constantly growing and learning, but at the same time there is a constant foundation on which I build. Identity is a fascinating fusion of different roles and personal facets that depends on your stage of life (time) and social environment (place). I embrace my identity; it is like a multicoloured mosaic, and it is in that variety that I thrive. So, columnist or scientist? I don\u2019t have to choose, I am many things.<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t

Hanan El Marroun is a professor of biological psychology.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t