Impulse Lecture: The odd fellow – Benefits of anomaly

Throughout my research career I have been seen at 'the odd fellow', the guy who did not do the same things as most of the other colleagues. This started already during my time as a PhD-student when I tried to include and use phytochemical data in phylogenetic analysis. The trend continued throughout my postdoctoral and senior research, and while sometimes complicating e.g. the task to find suitable reviewers for a research paper, it also opened possibilities for many new and interesting contacts. In this talk I will present some of these situations, what was seen as anomalous, and how this sometimes eventually resulted in new scientific findings.