One of my favorite songs is Bruce Cockburn’s Nicaragua. In particular, I like the refrain, “In the flash of this moment / You’re the best of what we are.” I think about that a lot when I see people doing great or noble work. And I think about this most in relation to scientists. Here is a TED talk of one such endeavor: decoding the original text that was used to print a prayer book. The talk is by William Noel, Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books at the Walters Art Museum.