Letters to a Young Scientist

Author: Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871407000
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 153

Book Description
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.

Letters to a Young Scientist

Author: Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871403773
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Book Description
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.

Letters To a Young Scientist

Author: Edward O Wilson
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0871403854
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Advice To A Young Scientist

Author: P. B. Medawar
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0786722622
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 132

Book Description
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.

Letters to a Young Chemist

Author: Abhik Ghosh
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470390433
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 326

Book Description
What’s it really like to be a chemist? Leading chemists share what they do, how they do it, and why they love it. “Letters to a young ...” has been a much-loved way for professionals in a field to convey their enthusiasm and the realities of what they do to the next generation. Now, Letters to a Young Chemist does the same for the chemical sciences. Written with a humorous touch by some of today’s leading chemists, this book presents missives to “Angela,” a fictional undergraduate considering a career in chemistry. The different chapters offer a mix of fundamental principles, contemporary issues, and challenges for the future. Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor of the University of California San Diego, talks about learning to do research and modern physical organic chemistry. Brothers Jonathan and Daniel Sessler explain the chemistry of anesthetics that make modern surgery possible while Elizabeth Nolan talks about biological imaging. Terry Collins talks about green chemistry, a more sustainable way of doing chemistry, while several authors including Carl Wamser, Harry Gray, John Magyar, and Penny Brothers discuss the crucial contributions that chemists can make in meeting global energy needs. Letters to a Young Chemist gives students and professionals alike a unique window into the real world of chemistry. Entertaining, informative, and full of honest and inspiring advice, it serves as a helpful guide throughout your education and career. “The different chapters describe both the wonders of the molecular world and the practical benefits afforded by chemistry ... and if any girl out there thinks that chemistry is a man’s world, this book should be a good antidote.” —Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor of the University of California, San Diego, and winner of the 2009 US National Medal of Science “Letters to a Young Chemist offers significant ammunition for motivating young people to consider chemistry as a career. ... This book should also be required reading for all faculty members who teach chemistry in high schools, colleges, and universities.” —Stephen J. Lippard, Arthur Amos Noyes Professor of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and winner of the 2006 US National Medal of Science

Advice for a Young Investigator

Author: Santiago Ramon Y Cajal
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262250039
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
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.

Anthropologist

Author: Mary Batten
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0618083685
Category : Anthropologists
Languages : en
Pages : 75

Book Description
Follows anthropologist A. Magdalena Hurtado as she lives with and studies the Ache Indians of Paraguay, as well as discussing how and why she became an anthropologist.

Scientist

Author: Richard Rhodes
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 1984898353
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
A masterful, timely, fully authorized biography of the great and 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 “An impressive account of one of the 20th century’s most prominent biologists, for whom the natural world is ‘a sanctuary and a realm of boundless adventure; the fewer the people in it, the better.’” —The New York Times Book Review Few biologists in the long history of that science have been as productive, as ground-breaking and as controversial as the Alabama-born Edward Osborne Wilson. At 91 years of age he may be the most eminent American scientist in any field. 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 from his contention that all animal behavior, including that of humans, is governed by the laws of evolution and genetics. Subsequently Wilson has become a leading voice on the crucial importance to all life of biodiversity and has worked tirelessly to synthesize the fields of science and the humanities in a fruitful way. Richard Rhodes is himself a towering figure in the field of science writing and he 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 and anticipated and urgently needed scientific biographies in years.

The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist

Author: Ben Barres
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262039117
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 161

Book Description
A leading scientist describes his life, his gender transition, his scientific work, and his advocacy for gender equality in science. Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. In this book, completed shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer in December 2017, Barres (born in 1954) describes a life full of remarkable accomplishments—from his childhood as a precocious math and science whiz to his experiences as a female student at MIT in the 1970s to his female-to-male transition in his forties, to his scientific work and role as teacher and mentor at Stanford. Barres recounts his early life—his interest in science, first manifested as a fascination with the mad scientist in Superman; his academic successes; and his gender confusion. Barres felt even as a very young child that he was assigned the wrong gender. After years of being acutely uncomfortable in his own skin, Barres transitioned from female to male. He reports he felt nothing but relief on becoming his true self. He was proud to be a role model for transgender scientists. As an undergraduate at MIT, Barres experienced discrimination, but it was after transitioning that he realized how differently male and female scientists are treated. He became an advocate for gender equality in science, and later in life responded pointedly to Larry Summers's speculation that women were innately unsuited to be scientists. Privileged white men, Barres writes, “miss the basic point that in the face of negative stereotyping, talented women will not be recognized.” At Stanford, Barres made important discoveries about glia, the most numerous cells in the brain, and he describes some of his work. “The most rewarding part of his job,” however, was mentoring young scientists. That, and his advocacy for women and transgender scientists, ensures his legacy.

The Social Conquest of Earth

Author: Edward O. Wilson
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0871403307
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

Book Description
New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book of the Year A Kirkus Reviews Book of the Year (Nonfiction) Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence (Nonfiction) From the most celebrated heir to Darwin comes a groundbreaking book on evolution, the summa work of Edward O. Wilson's legendary career. Sparking vigorous debate in the sciences, The Social Conquest of Earth upends “the famous theory that evolution naturally encourages creatures to put family first” (Discover). Refashioning the story of human evolution, Wilson draws on his remarkable knowledge of biology and social behavior to demonstrate that group selection, not kin selection, is the premier driving force of human evolution. In a work that James D. Watson calls “a monumental exploration of the biological origins of the human condition,” Wilson explains how our innate drive to belong to a group is both a “great blessing and a terrible curse” (Smithsonian). Demonstrating that the sources of morality, religion, and the creative arts are fundamentally biological in nature, the renowned Harvard University biologist presents us with the clearest explanation ever produced as to the origin of the human condition and why it resulted in our domination of the Earth’s biosphere.