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How to make interdisciplinarity work? In the present paper, two possible preconditions are discussed, on the hand interdisciplinarity within one person, on the other hand a recognized and admitted problem within a discipline that could be addressed or even solved with knowledge from a different discipline. Interdisciplinarity within one person can not be fostered through double degrees or pleas for openness, but by the independent pursuit of a question or topic across disciplinary borders. Similarly, fruitful exchange among disciplines can not be forced, but needs a pressing problem within one discipline that could be solved from another discipline's perspective. However, a person with inner interdisciplinarity is needed to make the connection: to know about the problem in one discipline and find the solution in another. These travelers across discipline borders, however, might feel like failures on their way as the social system of science rewards staying at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]