The question is: how much time should a scientist dedicate to revising research goals instead of pursuing past interests?

Too little time of brainstorming might lead to inconsequential research directions full of dead ends and stagnation. Spending too much time on planning can lead to conflicting considerations that could lead to procrastination. In order to discover something unexpected, it is necessary to take risks.

Since it is unclear in advance which research direction will yield results, scientific progress needs independent explorers. Sometimes a conventional path leads to an unexpected breakthrough, but more often, a traditional path leads to a traditional result.

Following new paths bring fresh ...