So let me explore these three qualities in more detail. The scientist You have spoken about the challenges of growing up behind the Iron Curtain, yet it instilled in you qualities that – seen from the outside – have been indispensable to your success.
As information was strictly controlled, you developed your own sense of curiosity, seeking out everything you wanted to learn, including what the socialist regime did not want to teach you. And because openly speaking your mind was dangerous – something you understood early on – you learned to be judicious, developing a strong sense of self-reliance.