If I knew anything Maria Salomea Skłodowska (Marie Curie), even more than Physics or Chemistry, two disciplines in which she won two Nobel Prizes, is one of uncertainty. And how to face it. Curie was not only a pioneer in the field of radioactivity (at that time full of unknowns) and discoverer, together with her husband, Pierre, of the chemical elements polonium and radium. He also had to live a world war and make their way in a territory dominated by men, something that makes clear the very famous photo of the fifth Solvay Congress, in 1927, in which she poses as the only woman among almost thirty men.
That is why almost a century later his reflections on how to confront fear, uncertainty and their multiple causes are a crucial part of his legacy.
Curie’s example. We were talking about it not long ago: the history of philosophy is full of round phrases of uncertain origin. There are plenty of them, even reflections attributed to two authors at the same time, such as it’s about procrastination that some sources put in mouth by Leonardo Da Vinci and others of the 18th century French moralist Joseph Joubert. The Marie Curie phrase that concerns us today and with which we head this post is also of confusing origin.
Some historians have traced its origins until 1952 and the truth is that since the 60s it has been replicated in countless essays, books and articles, which makes it one of the most popular phrases attributed to Curie. Does it make sense? A lot. Basically because, unlike what happens with other famous proverbs of uncertain origin that clash diametrically with the thoughts of the authors to whom it is attributed, this one in question summarizes Curie’s life.
What does the phrase say? The sentence It’s simple. Rotunda. With an almost magnetic force. And above all it is loaded with meanings. “Nothing in life should be feared, only understood. When you understand, fear disappears.”
In those two sentences Marie Curie addresses several questions that philosophy has been asking for centuries, issues that date back long before the time of the Polish scientist and still continue to obsess us today: What exactly is fear? What produces it? Is it good or bad? How should we act before him? What is the best way to approach it to avoid it paralyzing or limiting us?
From the outset, what Marie Curie tells us is that we should not deny fear. On the contrary. That something makes us afraid, especially if it is new to us, is totally understandable. The key is how we react to that sensation. Our attitude, the Polish scientist encourages usit must be rational, not visceral. If we really want to face fear and escape its radius of action, we will have to stop and try to understand what scares us.
More than words. That this phrase has been captivating us for more than half a century has nothing mysterious. To a large extent it is explained by two factors: what it says and above all who says it. Regarding the first, time has proven Marie Curie right. Today psychologists recognize that fear is not a negative emotion in itself, it is part of our most basic toolbox to survive. In fact it is a natural reaction to the unknown. If something is disconcerting to us, it is not strange that it frightens us. It’s that simple.
The problem is that this feeling ends up being disabling or leads to rejection. If that happens we run the risk of closing doors. As they explain our colleagues Trendsmany times we find it difficult to move forward or we feel limited not because we encounter an objectively high risk, but simply because we do not take the time to understand it. That’s when Curie’s voice resonates: “When you understand, fear disappears.”
Setting an example. The other reason why the phrase has been fascinating us for decades is because in a way it summarizes the vital and intellectual position of the scientist. If there was one thing Curie explored throughout her life, it was the new, and if there was one thing she had to manage, it was uncertainty (and probably the fears that accompanied it).
First because he had to deal with a turbulent historical moment. Marie was born in a Poland controlled by the Russian Empire, experienced hardships in Paris during her early years of training and, as an adult, faced a world war, the premature death of her husband and the misunderstanding from his colleagues.
If the above were not enough, Curie strove to expand the horizons of science, facing precisely the new: together with her husband she discovered two chemical elements, radium and polonium, and was a pioneer of radioactivity, which she soon actively took advantage of to help wounded soldiers. All this in an academic sphere basically dominated by men.
Current in the 21st century. Curie’s words also have a scope that goes from the individual to the collective. His advice on how to approach fears and the value of understanding to scare them away serves as a personal guide, but also makes for interesting reading in a world increasingly polarized.
“When you understand, fear disappears,” insists Marie Curie. That of course has its toll: understanding requires effort, leaving the comfort zone, giving up the most visceral responses and exercising reason.
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