[Draft] Why Is Doing Research So Difficult?
To understand why research is so difficult, we need to first understand how human beings have evolved.
Research is often romanticized. We imagine scholars uncovering truths, scientists making discoveries, or philosophers offering bold new interpretations. Yet anyone who has seriously attempted research knows that it is far from glamorous. It is slow, painstaking, and often deeply frustrating. At its core, research is difficult because it requires something deeply unnatural for human beings: openness to uncertainty and the willingness to be wrong.1
The Evolutionary Bias Toward Certainty
To understand why research is so difficult, we need to first understand how human beings have evolved. Human survival has historically depended on our ability to be certain. Certainty is what allowed our ancestors to act decisively in the face of danger. Imagine waking up in the middle of a forest with a tiger lurking nearby. Hesitation or doubt would almost certainly have meant death. Certainty about “this is dangerous, I must run” is what allowed survival.
This evolutionary bias toward certainty extends into everyday life. We wake up each morning quite certain of who we are. We are sure that the person who fell asleep yesterday is the same person waking up today. Without such basic continuity and certainty, life would be unbearably disorienting. Certainty allows us to navigate the world efficiently: we know how to use our language, how to cross the street, how to find our way home.
From this perspective, certainty is not just a preference; it is a survival strategy. The human mind has evolved to close down ambiguity wherever possible, to simplify, categorize, and decide.
Research as an Unnatural Task
Research, however, demands the opposite. It requires us to hold uncertainty, to remain open to being wrong, and to resist premature closure. This is why research feels so difficult and so unnatural.
When one engages in research, one is asked to question what seems obvious. “What if my assumption is not true?” “What if the data points in the opposite direction?” “What if the world is not the way I believe it is?” These are profoundly destabilizing questions because they go against the grain of human psychology.
Consider the contrast: in daily life, it is functional to believe that what you learned yesterday will still hold today. In research, clinging to that belief may blind you to new discoveries. In daily life, you need to act quickly and decisively. In research, rushing to conclusions may lead you astray. In daily life, certainty comforts us. In research, certainty often deceives us.
The Submission to Certainty and Uncertainty
The real challenge of research lies in balancing two contradictory impulses: the need for certainty and the openness to uncertainty.
On one hand, research requires the discipline of method and clarity. You must be certain enough to frame a question, design an experiment, collect data, and interpret results. Without structure and some level of decisiveness, research becomes chaotic.
On the other hand, research also requires the humility to let go of cherished assumptions, to acknowledge when evidence contradicts your expectations, and to accept that your understanding is partial and provisional. This is not easy. Most of us live in a world of certainties and find it disorienting when that foundation is shaken.
For example, a scientist who has spent ten years developing a theory may suddenly encounter data that undermines it. To let go of that certainty is emotionally painful. A historian may spend years believing that a particular interpretation of an event is correct, only to encounter a new archive that forces a radical rethink.
Thus, research is a practice of walking a razor’s edge: too much certainty and you become dogmatic; too much uncertainty and you drift into confusion.
Why Most People Find Research Difficult
Most people find research difficult because they are unaccustomed to this kind of openness. In everyday life, we are rewarded for being decisive and confident, not for doubting ourselves. A student who hesitates too much in an exam will fail. A professional who is too uncertain in decision-making will lose credibility. A leader who constantly questions themselves will struggle to inspire others.
This is why research demands an “extra sense” — a cultivated ability to tolerate ambiguity, to sit with not knowing, to resist the urge to collapse uncertainty into premature answers. It requires a mindset that is not natural to most of us, one that must be trained and nurtured.
The Psychology of Not Knowing
Psychologists speak of “cognitive closure,” the desire for a firm answer and the discomfort with ambiguity. Humans are wired for closure. We like to resolve tension and to know where we stand. Research frustrates this impulse because it keeps questions open longer than we are comfortable with.
For instance, imagine working on a project where the results remain unclear for months. You run experiments, gather data, and nothing fits neatly. Most people would find this intolerable. The mind craves a conclusion, any conclusion, to escape the discomfort of ambiguity. But genuine research often requires sitting in that discomfort, sometimes for years.
This is why research is not only an intellectual activity but also an emotional and psychological discipline. It requires resilience, patience, and the ability to manage frustration.
Historical Lessons: The Courage to Be Wrong
History of science and scholarship is full of examples of thinkers who dared to remain uncertain. Galileo questioned the certainty of an Earth-centered universe. Darwin questioned the certainty of species being fixed and unchanging. Freud questioned the certainty of conscious rationality. Each of them was resisted, mocked, or dismissed in their time, precisely because they challenged prevailing certainties.
What allowed them to persist was not just brilliance but the courage to embrace uncertainty and the humility to accept the possibility of being wrong.
This lesson is vital for today’s students and researchers. To contribute something meaningful, one must be prepared to be uncomfortable, to face resistance, and to endure uncertainty.
Conclusion: Research as a Human Struggle
So, why is doing research so difficult? Because it goes against the grain of how humans have evolved to live. We are creatures of certainty, but research demands openness to uncertainty. We are wired to be decisive, but research asks us to linger in ambiguity. We prefer comfort, but research requires discomfort.
Yet, this difficulty is precisely why research is so valuable. It pushes us beyond survival mode into growth, discovery, and innovation. It forces us to stretch the boundaries of our minds and to reimagine what is possible.
To do research, then, is to accept a paradox: to submit both to certainty and to uncertainty. It is to live with the tension between what we know and what we do not know. It is to practice humility, courage, and patience in the face of not knowing.
And perhaps most importantly, it is to recognize that without this difficult openness, no new knowledge would ever be born.
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Disclaimer: AI tools were used in curating this content, with human oversight to ensure rigor and contextual relevance.
Written with Mr. Pranit Singh, 2nd Year B.Tech (AI), Bennett University.