Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Watson , James D. (2001-06-12), The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, Touchstone, Retrieved on 2011-08-10
Folksonomies: history science biography Memes
10 AUG 2011
A Good Number of Scientists are Stupid
Of course there were scientists who thought the evidence favoring DNA was inconclusive and preferred to believe that genes were protein molecules. Francis, however, did not worry about these skeptics. Many were cantankerous fools who unfailingly backed the wrong horses. One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of. scientists are not only narrowminded and dull, but al... 1 
notes
notesJames Watson describing scientists who did not believe in the existence of DNA.
10 AUG 2011
Watson Describes Rosalind Franklin
Even worse, Maurice continually frustrated Francis by never seeming enthusiastic enough about DNA. He appeared to enjoy slowly understating important arguments. It was not a question of intelligence or common sense Maurice clearly had both; witness his seizing DNA before almost everyone else. It was that Francis felt he could never get the message over to Maurice that you did not move cautiously when you were holding dynamite like DNA. Moreover, it was increasingly difficult to take Maurice's... 1 notes
notesThere some sexism here, but Watson is so candid describing everyone in his book.
10 AUG 2011
Pride Turns Off a Scientific Audience
Pauling's talk was made with his usual dramatic flair. The words came out as if he had been in show business all his life. A curtain kept his model hidden until near the end of his lecture, when he proudly unveiled his latest creation. Then, with his eyes twinkling, Linus explained the specific characteristics that made his model the α-helix uniquely beautiful. This show, like all of his dazzling performances, delighted the younger students in attendance. There was no one like Linus in all t... 1 notes
notesWatson describes Pauling's lecture and his showmanship, which quietly infuriates his audience.
10 AUG 2011
Watson's Perception of Pauling's Rhetorical Flare in His ...
By the time I was back to Copenhagen, the journal containing Linus' article had arrived from the States. I quickly read it and immediately reread it. Most of the language was above me, and so I could only get a general impression of his argument. I had no way of judging whether it made sense. The only thing I was sure of was that it was written with style. A few days later the next issue of the journal arrived, this time containing seven more Pauling articles. Again the language was dazzling ... 1 notes
notesWatson makes a clever and critical note about Pauling's use of style over substance in his published papers.
10 AUG 2011
Watson Describes a Talk by Rosalind Franklin
BY mid-November, when Rosy's talk on DNA rolled about, I had learned enough crystallographic argument to follow much of her lecture.. Most important, I knew what to focus attention upon. Six weeks of listening to Francis had made me realize that the crux of the matter was whether Rosy's new X-ray pictures would lend any sup-port for a helical DNA structure. The really relevant experimental details were those which might provide clues in constructing molecular models. It took, however, only a ... 1 notes
notesAnd, curiously, remarks on his momentary thoughts about how she could make herself more attractive.
10 AUG 2011
The Discovery of Bacteria Sexes
I was preoccupied with sex, but not of a type that needed encouragement. The mating habits of bacteria were admittedly a unique conversation pieceçabsolutely no one in his and Odile's social circle would guess bacteria had sex lives. On the other hand, working out how they did it was best left to minor minds. Rumors of male and female bacteria were floating about at Royaumont, but not until early in September, when I attended a small meeting on microbial genetics at Pallanza, did I get the f... 1 notes
notesWatson describes the early discover that bacteria exchange genes, which is mistaken for bacterial sex.
10 AUG 2011
Watson Admits to Misunderstanding Rosalind Franklin
Rosy's instant acceptance of our model at first amazed me. I had feared that her sharp, stubborn mind, caught in her self-made antihelical trap, might dig up irrelevant results that would foster uncertainty about the correctness of the double helix. Nonetheless, like almost everyone else, she saw the appeal of the base pairs and accepted the fact that the structure was too pretty not to be true. Moreover, even before she learned of our proposal, the X-ray evidence had been forcing her more th... 1 notes
notesHe mistook her skepticism for feminism and not scientific integrity.
10 AUG 2011
Watson's Afterward Concerning Rosalind Franklin
All of these people, should they desire, can indicate events and details they remember differently. But there is one unfortunate exception. In 1958, Rosalind Franklin died at the early age of thirty-seven. Since my initial impressions of her, both scientific and personal (as recorded in the early pages of this book), were often wrong, I want to say something here about her achievements. The X-ray work she did at King's is increasingly regarded as superb. The sorting out of the A and B forms, ... 1 notes
notesIs it wrong to consider him a sexist, when he corrects his perceptions of her earlier in the text, and in the afterword admits he didn't understand the struggles of women scientists.
