James Watson in the Film “The Broken Code”
James Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, is one of the most colorful characters in the history of genetics research. He’s even been depicted in several films including The Race for the Double Helix and The Broken Code, which focused on Rosalind Franklin’s role in the discovery of DNA’s structure.
In [The Broken Code], the softly indignant [Rosalind Franklin's close friend Anne] Sayre, voiced by Rosemarie DeWitt, says, “Watson lied about her … Why did he need to slander a dead woman?” When Sayre goes to [Maurice] Wilkins to find out the truth, he calls Watson “the snoop” who filched Franklin’s X-ray diffraction results, without which he and [Francis] Crick could not have solved the structure. Finally, Crick calls The Double Helix “a contemptible pack of damn nonsense,” saying that Rosalind could have easily solved the structure herself. “It was lucky for us it turned out the way it did,” he says.
I suspect that without such egotistical people in science, great discoveries and advancements would never be made.
I disagree. Many great Scientists who have made many great discoveries have little or no egos. Infact in my opinion two of the best scientists today, Sydney Brenner and Eric Wieschaus, are also two of the most generous individuals I know.
Yes there are big egos in Science, but they are not a necessary component for greatness.
Mad Scientist, Glad to know that there are generous scientists out there. Guess I’m a little jaded. Sometimes it seems as if nice scientists finish last.
Also don’t forget that although Watson was (and some say is) a p***k, Crick gave much more to Science with his study into the nature of the codons.
Years after the "double helix" Rosalind Franklin became good friends with Crick and his wife. Crick invited her to move back to the MRC (from France) and Crick even housed her at when she had ovarian cancer. Sure, he could have done more like acknowlegde her at the Nobel Ceremony – although at this point he gave a talk on the RNA code problem – not the structure of DNA. Anyhow from my understanding Crick was far from being a p***k.
MS, The most important thing is that *we* not be p***ks. Although I may have the potential to be one….
Anyone know where I can see this???