Gadagkar, R (2021) More Fun Than Fun : The Joys and Burdens of Our Heroes. In:
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Abstract
'The behaviour of my two heroes, James Watson and Konrad Lorenz, is now an acute source of embarrassment. How does one deal with this conundrum?' Among the books I read as a teenager, two completely changed my life. One was The Double Helix by Nobel laureate James D. Watson. This book was inspiring at many levels and instantly got me addicted to molecular biology. The other was King Solomon’s Ring by Konrad Lorenz, soon to be a Nobel laureate. The study of animal behaviour so charmingly and unforgettably described by Lorenz kindled in me an eternal love for the subject. The circumstances in which I read these two books are etched in my mind and may have partly contributed to my enthusiasm for them and their subjects. The Double Helix was first published in London in 1968 when I was a pre-university student (equivalent to 11th grade) at St Joseph’s college in Bangalore and was planning to apply for the prestigious National Science Talent Search Scholarship. By then, I had heard of the discovery of the double-helical structure of DNA and its profound implications. I was also tickled that this momentous discovery was made in 1953, the year of my birth.
Item Type: | Editorials/Short Communications |
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Department/Centre: | Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences |
Date Deposited: | 01 Jun 2021 05:56 |
Last Modified: | 01 Jun 2021 05:56 |
URI: | http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/68672 |
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