In the final examinations he placed tenth out of 178 people. The reading of numerous naturalistic works, especially Paley's "Natural Theology", in which the author attempted to prove the existence of God through the works of nature and explained the processes of adaptation in nature through the intervention of God, who worked through the laws of nature, sparked in him the desire to make his own discoveries that would deepen his knowledge of nature.
He and some colleagues intended to travel to Tenerife to study nature in the tropics. His father was against the trip, but at the urging of his brother-in-law, he agreed.
