Geoffrey Burnstock (see Figure 1) tried many things in life but the Times obituary for him said this:
“He then studied for a PhD at King’s and University College London in the movements of fish guts.
At the same time, he was toying with an alternative career as a flamenco guitarist. He said:
“I went to Spain and learnt there. They said,
‘Go down and play and if they like it, they will dance’
and nobody danced. Then I knew I was hopeless. But, philosophically, that was important, everybody has strengths and weaknesses, and I realised that you have to go for your strengths and not flog your weaknesses. So I packed up. I sang songs and wooed a few women, but that is all I did on the guitar.” (The Times, 2020, p. 43)
The Times obituary (2020, p. 43) went on to say:
“In old age, he counted himself as having led a happy life. When asked the secret to it, he replied:
“My philosophy is, ‘If you can’t do it one way, you find another.’”” (The Times, 2020, p. 43).
Figure 1 Geoffrey Burnstock, Guitar and Fish Guts
After doing his PhD on the gut motility of fish, Geoffrey Burnstock went on to become a pioneering neuroscientist. Ferry (2020) said that he:
“…discovered a completely unexpected and ubiquitous signaling system that plays a role in pain, blood clotting and immunity as well as a wide range of brain functions.” (Ferry, 2020, p.2)
His successes in his research led to pioneering breakthroughs and new medicines. Perhaps it was a good thing that Geoffrey Burnstock did not succeed as a flamenco guitarist and pursued a career building on his strengths.
Dr Peter Sharp 7th March 2024
References
Ferry, G. (2020) Geoffrey Burnstock Obituary, The Guardian, Friday 19th June 2020{accessed on 5th March 2024 from https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/jun/19/geoffrey-burnstock-obituary}
The Times (2020) Obituary of Geoffrey Burnstock in The Times, p. 43, Monday 15th June 2020.
Knowledge Learning and Personal Development 