For those interested in personal insights into the lives of great scientists, a recent essay by Rosalind Franklin's sister in _The Lancet_ may be worth a look.
Rosalind Franklin was the brilliant crystallographer whose extraordinary photographs of the DNA molecule proved crucial to Watson and Crick's successful elucidation of its structure. She died tragically young of cancer. For her efforts, Watson provided an unkind portrait of her in his popular book, _The Double Helix_. Unlike the fake controversy concerning the alleged unacknowledged contribution made by Einstein's wife, Mileva Maric to the great physicist's work (see http://www.esterson.org/milevamaric.htm ), real questions exist concerning whether Franklin was treated fairly by Watson and Crick, and subsequently by history. A recent off-Broadway play, _Photograph 51_, explores this issue (http://snipurl.com/22v7vw0 ). So it's of interest that Franklin's sister declares: "Her story has been adopted by feminists as a symbol of a woman struggling and unacknowledged in a man's world. This would, I think, have embarrassed her almost as much as Watson's account would have upset her. It suited the feminism of the 1960s and 1970s to portray her as a victim of male dominance, but she would have thought of herself simply as a scientist whose achievements should have been judged on their own terms, not as a "woman scientist" striking a blow for the rights of women." The essay is available here: http://snipurl.com/22v7xtj Stephen -------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada e-mail: sblack at ubishops.ca --------------------------------------------- --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=17059 or send a blank email to leave-17059-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
