Blog 11

Through this reading I gained a new found respect for Barbara McClintock. The amount of resilience that she demonstrated was incredible. When she was continually lied to and deceived at the University of Missouri, she did not hang up the lab coat for good. Instead, she decided to leave the university for bigger and better opportunities. I recognized that she truly was a great scientist, who wanted to find the truth about the world, because silly university rules and regulations did not apply to her. This is talked about on page 84 of the book when she would allow her graduate students to continue working past 11pm, which was against university rules, if she felt the research was important. In addition, her focus on the details of maze continued to support her love for science and gave her a greater understanding of the big picture of maze itself. To me, this is very similar to Darwin’s approach to science. He was very much intrigued with the smallest of details, and through these details was able to construct his theory of evolution.

The most profound portion of the reading for me was in Chapter seven, page 117, when she talks about her life as a scientist. Evelyn Keller mentions that “A little later she spoke of the ‘real affection’ one gets for the pieces that ‘go together’: ‘As you look at these things, they become part of you. And you forget yourself. The main thing about it is you forget yourself’.” I think that this is completely true for the passionate scientists in the world. They are so focused on their project, and want to know the answers so badly, that they become lost in their work. They sometimes forget to eat, sleep, or even shower. Regardless of your profession, I think that if you become passionate enough in it, you will do whatever it takes to be successful in that field.