I just finished reading James Watson's memoirs of his discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. As a result, in class this week, I was able to comment on some of the main tenants of science, as well as what appeared to be the take home message of Watson's having written this memoir.
Many people don't like Watson. I had a few students who didn't, and I know that a while back when he claimed that blacks were intellectually inferior they took away his Nobel Prize. Obviously, they have never read his book. Hardly a single coherant sentence escapes their mouths before they begin assaulting the character of the man instead of arguing against his substantive scientific argument.
Aside from the science for which I recommend this work I also encourage it because it taught me the following lesson that I underscored to my students:
Many people don't like Watson. I had a few students who didn't, and I know that a while back when he claimed that blacks were intellectually inferior they took away his Nobel Prize. Obviously, they have never read his book. Hardly a single coherant sentence escapes their mouths before they begin assaulting the character of the man instead of arguing against his substantive scientific argument.
Aside from the science for which I recommend this work I also encourage it because it taught me the following lesson that I underscored to my students:
Don't let anyone dissuade you from what you know to be right.
Watson didn't know how he knew. He didn't know why he was right. By degrees, he came to that knowledge. All of his colleagues told him he was barking up the wrong tree. Rosalynd Franklin adamantly held her position that the crystal structures didn't support his assumptions. In the end, they DO support the final model.
Stand fast in your values. Stop listening to uneducated yapping dogs who don't know much about History, don't know much Trigonometry, don't know much about Science book, don't know much about the French they took... As you grow in knowledge and experience, you will find the strength to weather the tide and do great things. I was inspired, and I know you will be too.
Stand fast in your values. Stop listening to uneducated yapping dogs who don't know much about History, don't know much Trigonometry, don't know much about Science book, don't know much about the French they took... As you grow in knowledge and experience, you will find the strength to weather the tide and do great things. I was inspired, and I know you will be too.
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