Chapter 1 presents an overview of the two central activities of the scientific process: discovery (learning new things about the world) and credibility (convincing other researchers that the new findings are correct). According to the linear model of research found in science textbooks, these activities are carried out by dispassionate investigators who are guided at every step by objectivity and logic in accordance with the scientific method. By contrast, everyday practice is far more ambiguous. Researchers are influenced by personality and biography; success requires intuition and passion as well as objectivity and logic. Objectivity ultimately depends on individual researchers transcending their subjectivity by turning to the scientific community with the goal of achieving knowledge that is correct for anyone, anywhere, anytime. Diversity in how scientists think and work enhances scientific exploration. When science education focuses solely on the linear model of research, the excitement and adventure of everyday practice are left out.