Square pegs

As with proton interpretation, this must be considered an iterative process. Try to shoot your proposed structure down. Don t be afraid to tear it up at any stage and start again if some glaring problem becomes apparent. Resist temptation - don t hammer the square peg into a round hole This is why we do spectroscopy in the first place. If it crashes and bums then it was wrong so shed no tears. If it survives then it s got a good chance of being a winner. Finally, go back again and check that there is no mismatch between any carbon data and any supplementary proton data, e.g., NOE experiments. 

An old adage says that you can t fit a square peg into a round hole. (Or is it a round peg in a square hole ) Mathematicians must have found this statement to be a challenge. No, they still couldn t fit the peg into the hole, but the statement opened up all sorts of questions and answers as to how large a round peg could fit into a square hole or how large a rectangular peg could fit into a semicircular hole. Oh, the possibilities ... 

For instance, there are some people who believe that discovery is more exiting and highly valued than other aspects of research in the development process. In these cases the people are square pegs in round holes. It is therefore very important to move the individual to an area that matches his or her profile, on both skill set and mindset. Proper resource deployment is critical for rapid innovation. 

Greenless, F.J. Animal drug human food safety toxicology and antimicrobial resistance—the square peg. Int. J. Toxicol. 2003, 22, 131-134. 

Growing gaps. As companies try to put new forms of data into existing systems, they will quickly find that it is like putting a square peg in a round hole. They will be forced to acknowledge that their IT investments of the last decade are becoming obsolete. 

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