One of the other virtues of science: patience

    The public image of the scientist tends to be stereotyped towards the mad genius; that figure of high renown but of little common sense who forgets where he is and what he is doing while he flies throughout the cosmos in his imagination and thought.  Although some scientists certainly are good examples of this image, one could say that a large percentage of the sciences are not actually conducted in this manner.  They require a firm and steady patience to accumulate data over a long period of time, such as that which occurs in epidemiological studies of the west nile virus, smallpox, or malaria.  Human transmission vectors such as birds and mosquitoes have to be collected over a wide area, which is no easy task despite its inherent simplicity.  This historical knowledge of the natural world allows scientist to construct a firm evaluation of the stage of an epidemic--and its better management.