No one may have the guts to say this, but if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn't we?
James D. WatsonRead
DNA was my only gold rush. I regarded DNA as worth a gold rush.
Interpretation
James D. Watson viewed the exploration of DNA as a valuable pursuit, akin to the excitement and opportunity of a gold rush.
In this quote, James D. Watson expresses his deep appreciation for the field of genetics, particularly the study of DNA, emphasizing its significance and potential in advancing science. He likens the pursuit of knowledge and discoveries in DNA to the frenzied excitement of a gold rush, indicating that he perceives extraordinary value and opportunity in understanding the building blocks of life.
In practice
In a conference on genetic research, one could use the quote to highlight the value of innovative exploration.
No one may have the guts to say this, but if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn't we?
I think the reason people are dealing with science less well now than 50 years ago is that it has become so complicated.
Polls consistently show that the majority of Americans favour research using embryonic stem cells and yet politicians continue to pander to the outspoken religious minority that is hampering efforts to develop this potentially valuable technology.
Science has always been my preoccupation and when you think a breakthrough is possible, it is terribly exciting.
If you go into science, I think you better go in with a dream that maybe you, too, will get a Nobel Prize. It's not that I went in and I thought I was very bright and I was going to get one, but I'll confess, you know, I knew what it was.
Take young researchers, put them together in virtual seclusion, give them an unprecedented degree of freedom and turn up the pressure by fostering competitiveness.
But because we live in an age of science, we have a preoccupation with corroborating our myths.
We are, in a way, temporary ambulatory repositories for our nucleic acids. This does not deny our humanity; it does not prevent us from pursuing the good, the true and the beautiful. But it would be a great mistake to ignore where we have come from in our attempt to determine where we are going.
The best way to conduct research on a larger scale is to make sure everyone knows what everyone else is doing... The sooner the better - start talking to other people about what you're doing. Because that's what will stimulate things the fastest.
Data, I think, is one of the most powerful mechanisms for telling stories. I take a huge pile of data and I try to get it to tell stories.
The real reason why general relativity is widely accepted is because it made predictions that were borne out by experimental observations.
The Yankees, the first mechanicians in the world, are engineers - just as the Italians are musicians and the Germans metaphysicians - by right of birth. Nothing is more natural, therefore, than to perceive them applying their audacious ingenuity to the science of gunnery.
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