Patrick David Hsu isn’t your regular 24 year old. While completing his graduate studies at Harvard, he contributed to the revolutionary CRISPR technology, improving the efficiency and accuracy of gene editing technologies significantly. This feat earned him a PhD and a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list at the ripe age of 22. He holds multiple patents, with patents pending related to CRISPR and was awarded $1M for his research through the prestigious National Institute of Health Director’s Early Independence Award. He now runs his own lab as a principal investigator in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies where his lab focuses on finding treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and complex genetic disorders.
So how exactly was Patrick able to accomplish so much at an age when most people are still struggling to pay off their student debt? I had a chance to sit down with him at the Hello Tomorrow Summit in Paris to uncover actionable insights that others can emulate.
Develop Superior Pattern Matching Capabilities
As Isaac Newton famously once said “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” To be able to achieve any significant breakthroughs one must first learn the fundamentals from the giants of that field. In Patrick’s case, this meant diligently learning and pursuing his undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley and then his graduate work at Harvard. Here he was exposed to a variety of prolific thinkers within the field of biology ranging from the researchers who discovered the double helix in DNA (Watson & Crick) to the man who shocked the world by proposing the once radical Theory of Evolution (Charles Darwin). Even when he contemplated leaving his PhD program to become a software engineer, he relented when he realized just how much more he still needed to learn.
“Biology is essentially a huge exercise in pattern matching” - Patrick David Hsu
The whole idea behind building superior pattern matching capabilities relies on two things: rapidly synthesizing information and finding patterns from the set of your current knowledge. Through his early career as a researcher, Patrick was able to develop the skill of sifting through vast amounts of information and identifying the key points necessary for a research paper for publication. The actual ability to recognize patterns comes down to sheer perseverance and force of will. Very rarely was Patrick able to find the right pattern on the first try. It was more important to be able to learn from his failures and adjust the patterns he was looking for up until that pivotal breakthrough.
While not everyone is working on breakthrough biological concepts, the idea of pattern matching applies to just about every field. Want to turn that lead into a sale? Better learn how to emulate the pattern that increases your closing rate. Want to finish writing that book? Why not start by synthesizing information from other great authors, and then use those tried and true patterns to fuel your own artistic breakthrough.
Learn Through Osmosis
The hollywood myth of the lone scientist working on their projects in the secrecy of their garage is just that - a hollywood myth. In Patrick's case, a huge catalyst for his current level of success was being in an intellectual environment that brought the best out of him. For example his PhD advisor, Feng, was able to impart the importance of an elegant idea that could then be demonstrated in the laboratory. It wasn’t something that was taught in a lecture, instead it was something Patrick was able to observe through continuous exposure to a brilliant mind.
“Sharing is something that people don’t talk about enough, it dramatically sped up CRISPR adoption.” - Patrick David Hsu speaking to MIT Technology Review.
By surrounding yourself with others who are smarter than you, you open yourself up to gather additional data points that you otherwise would have ignored or missed. A casual water cooler conversation or joke may turn into a profound insight in the right context. Implicit in this advice is that if you’re the dumbest person in the room, as Patrick tries to be, then you must be able to pause and listen. Staying humble and realizing that you know very little, is yet another way to increase your rate of knowledge acquisition as you expose yourself to those smarter than yourself.
Drain the Shallows
In an era of always being connected, perhaps the best strategy to take is one where you aren’t connected at all. Patrick, along with Cal Newport, the author of Deep Work and professor of distributed algorithms at Georgetown university, both espouse the importance of being unplugged and free from distractions. In our conversation Patrick reminisced of the days when we all had flip phones, and didn’t have the allure of a Facebook or Snapchat notification to tug at our attention.
Research by Foroughi et al backs up Patrick’s assertion that letting distractions dominate our lives will ultimately lead to work that’s lower quality. Patrick himself tries to avoid the mentally dead state of scrolling through a Facebook or Instagram feed as a result of checking notifications as much as possible - comparing it to mindlessly watching cartoons as a kid. Instead he prefers to focus on intent, engaging in a variety of activities, whether it's learning a new dance move, contemplating Hegel or building tools to combat Alzheimer's.
Anders Ericson in his bestselling book, Peak Performance, makes the argument that the path to becoming a peak performer comes down to deliberate practice for extended periods of time. As much as we’d like to believe the idea of a genetically gifted individual being able to achieve everything effortlessly, it ultimately comes down to hard work and sacrifices. To be able to implement the three pieces of advice Patrick offers us, it will take a degree of discipline and commitment that not many of us are willing to take on. We say we want to become a published author, a successful business owner, or late night comedian, but how many of us are actually willing to put in the grueling hours it takes to become an expert at our craft?
Without a doubt, Patrick’s performance thus far is remarkable and yet at the end of the day it all came down to his determination and perseverance to conquer topics that frustrated and dissuaded others his age. In an age where few can focus on one task for more than 30 minutes without the hit of dopamine that comes from looking at their notifications, Patrick serves as a shining example of what can be possible if you dedicate yourself to the pursuit of excellence in a field of your choosing.