Civilisations rising and crumbling over eons and across galaxies. Interplanetary conflicts, alien races and worlds as vivid in description as they are difficult to conceive.
For a young Prof. Henk Bouwman, now professor in Zoology at the North-West University (NWU) in South Africa, specialising in ecotoxicology across multiple biological systems, these were the realms in which his imagination roamed during his formative years. And still does.

The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov — which follows a mathematician predicting the collapse of a vast galactic empire and attempting to preserve knowledge — and the Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, which follows the adventures of John Carter on Mars, were among the worlds to which he gravitated. Their influence, however, extended far beyond escapism.

According to Prof. Bouwman, quoting Albert Einstein, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” On this, Prof. Bouwman remarked: “To me, thoughts framed by perceived reality throttle imagination and creativity.”

Prof. Bouwman also references Arthur C. Clarke, who argued that progress is often hindered not by a lack of facts but by “a failure of imagination”.

For Prof. Bouwman, fiction helped shape how he thinks as a researcher. Yet he fears many learners and young academics are increasingly missing out on the imaginative breadth that fiction can provide.

“Reading beyond strictly scientific material is not always something people prioritise, but fiction books, especially science fiction, have had a profound influence on how I think. Fiction is deeply inspiring because it broadens the mind and encourages you to think beyond narrow objectives. It prevents you from moving through life with blinkers on, focused only on completing a task and moving on. I sometimes see this limitation in students who are highly goal-driven; once the objective is achieved, the thinking stops, without always recognising wider consequences, implications and possibilities,” Prof. Bouwman explains.

In a time when entertainment is consumed in seconds rather than hours, imagination is rarely given the space to mature, let alone to listen to the back-of-your-mind thoughts; that niggling voice telling you something. How, then, will future researchers cultivate the ideas that drive ingenuity? Now may be the time to turn that page, embrace a sense of wonder, and be daring.

Prof. Henk Bouwman