Daniel Shechtman’s story is by no means unique. Over and over again in the history of science, researchers have been forced to do battle with established “truths”, which in hindsight have proven to be no more
than mere assumptions. One of the fiercest critics of Daniel Shechtman and his quasicrystals was Linus
Pauling, himself a Nobel Laureate on two occasions. This clearly shows that even our greatest scientists
are not immune to getting stuck in convention. Keeping an open mind and daring to question established
knowledge may in fact be a scientist’s most important character traits.