Home Archive Ask ©

I am Victoria. Twenty years old. Microbiology major. Into all things interesting: history, art, science, photography, film, animals, typography, literature, design, music, etc. This blog is my virtual monologue; a stream of my conscience. I like the simple things. Nothing is more rewarding than spending life doing what you love and loving what you do.

so-personal: relatable/humor blog if you Don’t smile I will personally cook you a pizza ♡
the-absolute-best-posts: rbw:   This post has been featured on a 1000notes.com blog.
molecularlifesciences: sagansense: AVOID BORING PEOPLE (Lessons From a Life in Science) Review (so far): This book is a very intimate and personal account of James Watson’s trek through the discovery of the accurate mechanics and workings of the double helix. Told by a scientist for either the fellow scientist or the lay-reader, Professor Watson speaks about his excursions between U.S. and Europe universities, socializing and (his attempts at) fraternizing with intellectual female counterparts, the complications and grievances between department heads for workspace or colleague placement, various holidays taken with associates/close friends at Harvard, JFK, unethical governmental ordinances/practices, the nuclear arms race stemming from the Cold War, being awarded the Nobel Prize, the PR-dance associated with his newly acquired celebrity status and (where I’m currently at, Chapter 12) post-Nobel Prize career direction while writing his first book: The Molecular Biology of the Gene or, otherwise known as the alternative “inside-joke” title, Honest Jim. It’s an interesting read, as he begins to delve into the experience of writing generally and concisely for broad audiences, to which this became clearer to him as he continued to teach and lecture, providing him the means to reflect upon audience reception to his mannerisms and delivery of scientific information. Basically, you’re sitting behind the mind of a PhD/writer/teacher/biologist and his career and life in science. The book does imply that there are lessons to be told, and he relays them to the reader at the end of each chapter in closing and also has them uniformly arranged in the back of the book, which I appreciate, because they are extremely useful guidelines for young scientists, to which I anticipate posting and sharing with all of you. Also, I highlight a lot, so having them all in one spot in the back is quite convenient! When I picked this up last year, I published a post about it which you can view here, and you will see how the chapters are titled - they all begin with “Manners,” another ode to his nickname, Honest Jim. Although I’m not finished, I had some thoughts and feelings I wanted to share: The type of insight revealed in the text thus far is enlightening and you don’t have to be a molecular biologist or fluent in biochemistry to understand the content. However, upon reading, I can say for certain that James D. Watson is - contrary to his receiving a telegram of “acknowledgement” from Richard P. Feynman - no Richard Feynman, haha. Griping about office space, bitching about raises and Harvard not acknowledging his academic prowess and celebrity presence with the raise he so arrogantly expected, bratty remarks about not being seated next to this or that princess… this man is an esteemed professional, don’t get me wrong, and the chemistry/biology and medical fields are a much different beast than others: dictated, pressed and pulled by governmental and political influence just as (if not more than) rigorously and annoyingly as any other field, but maybe I expected too much from him when realizing he didn’t embody the likes of Richard Feynman or Carl Sagan as I’m accustomed to deferring to when I think of great minds whom I admire and reflect on throughout most situations. When he received the congratulatory telegram from Richard Feynman for the double helix discovery, Feynman’s words to Watson were: AND THERE HE MET THE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER This type of simplicity and respect is what I admire in an individual, let alone Richard Feynman or Carl Sagan. Those who congratulated him, the people that he associated with or met at parties…they BS’d with him about honors, small talk; whereas Feynman’s respect was provided in a single sentence that speaks for itself. However again, I understand that Mr. Watson is not either of these two individuals, he’s only the man that he is. I just couldn’t help being bothered by the illustrations he conjured when speaking. Not bothered because I couldn’t get past the fact that he wasn’t someone else I wished him to be, that hasn’t been the case at all; but just not seeing the world through the cosmic perspective as so many others have when so close to a field of science, let alone a field of investigation into the fabric of our existence, directly influenced by cosmic rays. Or, I’m just lost in space, haha. But let me just get to the point: honors. Richard Feynman spoke about honors and had a very stern mental discipline on the aspect of honors and recognition or prestige amongst so-called “elites.” In a sense, Feynman wasn’t ‘above’ them or this self-centered and adolescent human perspective, he was beyond it. Watch: Richard Feynman Discusses “Honors” (it’s extremely ironic that I’m sharing this because astrodidact just posted this video earlier as I was writing this) So, when I’m working my way through a world-renown scientist’s book like this, and I follow carefully his words and the buildup of the discovery, the processes by which he and his team worked out the complex cellular structure of the genetic code we all are familiar with and are actually educated about in the American education industry, system, curriculum, I guess I expected….well….that’s the problem, expecting anything at all. But once he got there, I was puzzled as to how the rest of the book was going to go considering there was and is still a good bit left. And I mean, this guy was spoiled, he had a good bit of money, went to prestigious universities and rubbed elbows with the most high ranked of individuals in their field and of the world. Sure, he has stories. But as Feynman so poignantly stated: the prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out. Reading content like this from someone’s perspective I can’t quite fully relate to isn’t bothersome to me, because it reminds me of the perspective and outlook I do have on this life; and although James Watson was/is the forerunner for human genomic research and development, the history and individuals behind the unlocking of genetic material is just that: the person behind this discovery. The importance and significance of that discovery is still being understood and reported to us in some of the most awesome of ways we could have ever imagined (see: drosophila melanogaster). So with that, I press onward to finish Avoid Boring People, by James D. Watson. Expect excerpts to be published in the future from his Lessons (and Manners) in Science. Stay curious. And read. It’s good for you brain. Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll check out that first one for sure!
likespiders: This was an accident. 
b0mbshell101: i follow back(:
pleasent: Perfect indie blog that follows back