For all of you science folks out there: DO NOT WIN A NOBEL PRIZE. Obviously, winning one pretty much assures you'll end up becoming completely batty in your old age. Of course I'm talkin' about Dr. James Watson and his recent comments that have caused a deserved uproar. He's also been suspended from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
But, apparently, Crick, of Watson n' Crick fame, also ended up losing it a bit in his old age (according to Dr. Hatcher).
Also: William Shockley, who was pretty keen on eugenics and donated his, uh, seed to the "Genius Sperm Bank". In fact, the book David Plotz wrote on the subject--"The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank"-- is rather good.
So, in sum: strive for mediocre scientific work lest you end up like these cautionary tales.
2 comments:
I promise that if I don't win a Nobel prize, then it will be entirely due to me taking your warning seriously Amy, and not due to my epic level of laziness in the lab.
Cory,
Thank you for heeding my warning. Dr. Hatcher scoffed at me. By the way, if you or Mary happen to be in the market for a job, you might want to send a CV off to Cold Spring Harbor. I hear they've recently had an opening! :-)
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