Letters To A Young Scientist

Download or read book Letters to a Young Scientist written by Edward O. Wilson and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pulitzer Prize–winning biologist Edward O. Wilson imparts the wisdom of his storied career to the next generation. Edward O. Wilson has distilled sixty years of teaching into a book for students, young and old. Reflecting on his coming-of-age in the South as a Boy Scout and a lover of ants and butterflies, Wilson threads these twenty-one letters, each richly illustrated, with autobiographical anecdotes that illuminate his career—both his successes and his failures—and his motivations for becoming a biologist. At a time in human history when our survival is more than ever linked to our understanding of science, Wilson insists that success in the sciences does not depend on mathematical skill, but rather a passion for finding a problem and solving it. From the collapse of stars to the exploration of rain forests and the oceans’ depths, Wilson instills a love of the innate creativity of science and a respect for the human being’s modest place in the planet’s ecosystem in his readers.

Download or read book Letters to a Young Scientist written by Edward O. Wilson and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2013-04-15 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Weaves together more than twenty letters that illuminate the author's career and his motivations for becoming a biologist, explaining how success in the sciences depends on a passion for finding a problem and solving it.

Download or read book Advice To A Young Scientist written by P. B. Medawar and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2008-08-01 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To those interested in a life in science, Sir Peter Medawar, Nobel laureate, deflates the myths of invincibility, superiority, and genius; instead, he demonstrates it is common sense and an inquiring mind that are essential to the scientist's calling. He deflates the myths surrounding scientists -- invincibility, superiority, and genius; instead, he argues that it is common sense and an inquiring mind that are essential to the makeup of a scientist. He delivers many wry observations on how to choose a research topic, how to get along wih collaborators and older scientists and administrators, how (and how not) to present a scientific paper, and how to cope with culturally "superior" specialists in the arts and humanities.

Download or read book Advice for a Young Investigator written by Santiago Ramon Y Cajal and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2004-02-27 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An anecdotal guide for the perplexed new investigator as well as a refreshing resource for the old pro, covering everything from valuable personality traits for an investigator to social factors conducive to scientific work. Santiago Ramón y Cajal was a mythic figure in science. Hailed as the father of modern anatomy and neurobiology, he was largely responsible for the modern conception of the brain. His groundbreaking works were New Ideas on the Structure of the Nervous System and Histology of the Nervous System in Man and Vertebrates. In addition to leaving a legacy of unparalleled scientific research, Cajal sought to educate the novice scientist about how science was done and how he thought it should be done. This recently rediscovered classic, first published in 1897, is an anecdotal guide for the perplexed new investigator as well as a refreshing resource for the old pro. Cajal was a pragmatist, aware of the pitfalls of being too idealistic—and he had a sense of humor, particularly evident in his diagnoses of various stereotypes of eccentric scientists. The book covers everything from valuable personality traits for an investigator to social factors conducive to scientific work.

Download or read book Naturalist written by Edward O. Wilson and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2006-04-24 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Edward O. Wilson -- University Professor at Harvard, winner of two Pulitzer prizes, eloquent champion of biodiversity -- is arguably one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. His career represents both a blueprint and a challenge to those who seek to explore the frontiers of scientific understanding. Yet, until now, little has been told of his life and of the important events that have shaped his thought.In Naturalist, Wilson describes for the first time both his growth as a scientist and the evolution of the science he has helped define. He traces the trajectory of his life -- from a childhood spent exploring the Gulf Coast of Alabama and Florida to life as a tenured professor at Harvard -- detailing how his youthful fascination with nature blossomed into a lifelong calling. He recounts with drama and wit the adventures of his days as a student at the University of Alabama and his four decades at Harvard University, where he has achieved renown as both teacher and researcher.As the narrative of Wilson's life unfolds, the reader is treated to an inside look at the origin and development of ideas that guide today's biological research. Theories that are now widely accepted in the scientific world were once untested hypotheses emerging from one mans's broad-gauged studies. Throughout Naturalist, we see Wilson's mind and energies constantly striving to help establish many of the central principles of the field of evolutionary biology.The story of Wilson's life provides fascinating insights into the making of a scientist, and a valuable look at some of the most thought-provoking ideas of our time.

Download or read book Letters to a Young Doctor written by Richard Selzer and published by HMH. This book was released on 1996-04-15 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A timeless collection of advice, operating-room wisdom, and reflections on the practice of medicine, from the “best of the writing surgeons” (Chicago Tribune). “Richard Selzer does for medicine what Jacques Cousteau does for the sea,” raved The New York Times of this extraordinary collection. “He transports the reader to a world that most of us never see, a world that is vivid and powerful, often overwhelming, occasionally fantastic.” In this collection of highly candid, insightful, and unexpectedly humorous essays, the erstwhile surgeon turned Yale School of Medicine professor addresses both the brutality and the beauty of a profession in which saving and losing lives is all in a day’s work. A number of these pieces take the form of letters offering counsel to aspiring physicians. Featuring wry and witty observations on matters of life and death, medical ethics, and the awesome responsibilities of being a surgeon, Letters to a Young Doctor should be required reading for all medical students—and anyone interested in the endless miracle that is the human body. "No one writes about the practice of medicine with Selzer's unique combination of mystery and wonder,” observed the Los Angeles Times, while The New York Times praised Selzer’s “marvelous insight and potent imagery” for making “his tales of surgery and medicine both works of art and splendid tools of instruction.”

Download or read book Scientist written by Richard Rhodes and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2023-10-17 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A masterful and timely biography of the hugely influential biologist and naturalist E. O. Wilson, one of the most ground-breaking and controversial scientists of our time—from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb Few biologists have been as productive, ground-breaking, or controversial as Edward Osborne Wilson. At 92 years old, he may be the most eminent American scientist in any field today. Fascinated from an early age by the natural world in general and ants in particular, his field work on them and on all social insects has vastly expanded our knowledge of their many species and fascinating ways of being. This work led to his 1975 book Sociobiology, which created an intellectual firestorm with his contention that all animal behavior, including that of humans, is governed by the laws of evolution and genetics. Wilson has since become a leading voice on the crucial importance of biodiversity and has worked tirelessly to synthesize science and the humanities in a fruitful way. A towering figure in his own right, Richard Rhodes has had complete and unfettered access to Wilson, his associates, and his papers in writing this book. The result is one of the most accomplished, anticipated and urgently necessary scientific biographies in years.