Gully State
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One of my profs had Watson as his molecular biology teacher during his undergrad. The lecture was Watson reading the textbook he co-authored verbatim for the entire period.
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James Watson selling Nobel Prize
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He also thinks sunlight and dark skin cause a higher libido, which is why Latins are known as lovers. The guy just has some old timey racist views. Being a brilliant scientist doesn't keep you from being a moron on other issues.
But that's bizarre if true. The scientific principle is not limited to genetics but all knowledge in general. Going by that, hes not a brilliant "scientist".
curlyfriski
Banned
For some reason I find this hilarious.My mom has met with Watson a few times (she also met Norman Borlaug in Africa)... she said he had a giant poster of Anna Kournikova hanging in his office.
Being obscure doesn't mean the person is undeserving though. I think ours commendable that the Nobel committee tries to find challenging and unknown stuff. And that article mentions that his work isn't translated into English as if that's a slight against the committee, but the English publishing industry is known for being parochial.It's a total crap shoot who gets a prize. The latest winner was a French writer even many French hadn't heard of. On a literary forum I frequent the few French speakers hardly knew him.
curlyfriski
Banned
People aren't perfectly rational, even brilliant scientists.But that's bizarre if true. The scientific principle is not limited to genetics but all knowledge in general. Going by that, hes not a brilliant "scientist".
It's a total crap shoot who gets a prize. The latest winner was a French writer even many French hadn't heard of. On a literary forum I frequent the few French speakers hardly knew him.
That doesn't make it a crap shoot. It's not like he wrote one book and disappeared. If anything, this will help his work be read by a wider audience, maybe even leading to translations.
Science based are still a huge sign of respect.The Nobel Prize has been a joke for a long time so I can understand why he'd sell his
speculawyer
Member
He's so poor he has to sell it to donate money and buy a painting? Yeah, ok.
This.
Don't whine that you don't have money to buy an expensive painting. Shut the fuck up.
One of my professors said the H. pylori nobel prize dude was not very nice (he had dinner with him).
Also, the dude who "invented" PCR is wacky as hell. AIDS denialist and believes in aliens (the latter, I'm cool with, but not in the way he believes them). Unless glowing green space racoons really do exist...
Also, the dude who "invented" PCR is wacky as hell. AIDS denialist and believes in aliens (the latter, I'm cool with, but not in the way he believes them). Unless glowing green space racoons really do exist...
He told the newspaper people wanted to believe that everyone was born with equal intelligence but that those who have to deal with black employees find this not true.
Mr Watson said he hoped the publicity surrounding the sale of the medal would provide an opportunity for him to re-enter public life. Since the furore in 2007 he has not delivered any public lectures.
It's almost comforting that a man of such great scientific merit is otherwise an idiot.
What a fucking numpty.
I understanding tying the mind to genetics like anything else but IQ is a really terrible metric for intelligence.
Also, our minds are one of our more malleable tools in our bodies and its not like our environment doesn't play a crucial role in our development.
Remember when it was widely considered that being black meant you were feeble and terrible at athletics, yeah... I dont either but barely half a century ago, that was a real and widely used argument.
Also, our minds are one of our more malleable tools in our bodies and its not like our environment doesn't play a crucial role in our development.
Remember when it was widely considered that being black meant you were feeble and terrible at athletics, yeah... I dont either but barely half a century ago, that was a real and widely used argument.
CrushDance
Banned
Yeah, I don't disagree with you about the cultural practices.
However, I do think that can largely be remedied with education. Superstitious beliefs tend to go down as eduction goes up.
I have some doubt that a person with a scientific Nobel Prize is pulling things out of his ass. But IQ tests are highly flawed when trying to derive any contextual information and they are not testing intelligence itself in adequate manner. The only thing you can say about Africans is that they have done a pretty shitty job in general, there is little hard science on the "why" but i do suspect cultural beliefs, lack of education and continued fuckery by foreign interests.
What are these cultural practices that Africans engage in. Do blacks engage in them too?
He is a piece of shit.
Here is a great piece from Slate about it: http://www.slate.com/articles/healt...structure_discoverer_s_history_of_racism.html
The guy held back science by actively excluding blacks and women.
I should not have read the comments. >_< Why, oh why do I always do that to myself? (You'd think I'd have learned after seeing the terrible comments on the Telegraph article.)
That's not true at all. You hear "Watson and Crick" ten times for every single mention of Rosalind Franklin.
Yep.
This.
Don't whine that you don't have money to buy an expensive painting. Shut the fuck up.
Maybe he's to Science, what Dorian Gray was to beauty.
That would explain why he's such a moron and still won a Nobel prize.
skullmuffins
Banned
He's far from the only Nobel Prize winner who later endorsed unscientific nonsense. There's even a term for it, Nobel disease.I have some doubt that a person with a scientific Nobel Prize is pulling things out of his ass. But IQ tests are highly flawed when trying to derive any contextual information and they are not testing intelligence itself in adequate manner. The only thing you can say about Africans is that they have done a pretty shitty job in general, there is little hard science on the "why" but i do suspect cultural beliefs, lack of education and continued fuckery by foreign interests.
It wound up selling for $4.1 million.
No mention of spending it all on a Hockney painting! I suspect someone told him that it wasn't a good look.
No mention of spending it all on a Hockney painting! I suspect someone told him that it wasn't a good look.
It wound up selling for $4.1 million.
No mention of spending it all on a Hockney painting! I suspect someone told him that it wasn't a good look.
The buyer was a Russian oligarch who intends to give the medal back for free.
Russia's richest man has revealed that he bought US scientist James Watson's Nobel Prize gold medal, and intends to return it to him.
Steel and telecoms tycoon Alisher Usmanov said Mr Watson "deserved" the medal, and that he was "distressed" the scientist had felt forced to sell it.
Mr Usmanov said in a statement that he was the anonymous telephone bidder who bought the medal at a Christie's auction last week.
"In my opinion, a situation in which an outstanding scientist has to sell a medal recognising his achievements is unacceptable," he added.
"James Watson is one of the greatest biologists in the history of mankind and his award for the discovery of DNA structure must belong to him."
Mr Usmanov, said by Forbes magazine to be worth $15.8bn, is a major shareholder in Arsenal football club and was named Britain's wealthiest man in the Sunday Times rich list for 2013.
Well Obama won the peace award lol.
I'm sure it's been covered but it's a separate one that's run by Norway.
I can't say I'm particularly impressed with the gesture (it smacks of ego-stroking with a dash of "the poor, brilliant scientist laid low by the politically correct mob" narrative). :/ At least the money raised will be going towards science (well, assuming it isn't, in fact, going towards a Joe Hockey painting instead...).
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