Session 1
Introduction to the course, to each other, and to science as a concept; discussion of a life in science and the paths that lead to it.
Topics:
- Course mechanics, expectations, and schedule.
- A brief informal talk by the instructor about his own career (with Q and A).
- Short student presentations of personal histories and interests in this course.
- General discussion about the nature of science, its roles in society in general and during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the personal and educational routes taken to a life in science.
Readings to inform the discussions:
H Varmus: The Art and Politics of Science (Norton, 2009)(freely available on line)
Read the Introduction and, if you wish, a chapter or two that interests you
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK190622/)
I.A. Richards, Practical Criticism (1930), Introduction, pp 3-18
The role of “evidence” in the arts and humanities
Available on line at Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/stream/practicalcritici030142mbp#page/n27/mode/2
Short essays about how others became scientists (look at a few if you have time):
http://library.cshl.edu/oralhistory/
Optional readings relevant to topics we will discuss:
Note: most of my guides to forthcoming classes will include annotated lists of additional readings, such as those below; they are meant to encourage future reading by those who wish, but are not formal assignments.
Four notable books (probably too long to read before the course begins):
Francois Jacob: The Statue Within (Cold Spring Harbor Press, 1995) (available on line: http://ineedbooks.xyz/?book=0879694769)
Perhaps the best written of the many memoirs of famous scientists; this one features World War II, remarkable modesty, and compelling, graceful prose.
JD Watson: The Double Helix (1969) Perhaps the most famous and enjoyable book about one person’s view of the competition, frustration, social complexities, and exuberance of making a great discovery in the life sciences. Despite the well-deserved criticism he receives for some of his views, this book remains a classic. For some interesting, contentious commentary about the book, look at contemporary reviews, especially this one: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/159/3822/1448
V Ramakrishnan, The Gene Machine (2018). A recent memoir by one of the three scientists who received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine for determining the structure of the ribosome. This excerpt (https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/venki-ramakrishnan/gene-machine/9780465093366/#module-whats-inside) gives some of the flavor of a route to the life sciences for a young physicist who was born in India, trained in the US, and is now the president of the Royal Society of London.
Some recent news articles (many influenced by the pandemic) about the state of science now, the nature of a scientific career, and other things; try to find time to read a couple of these, especially one or two of those highlighted with a *):
- Callaway et al: COVID and 2020: An extraordinary year for Science. Nature, 12:588 (2020)
https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-020-03437-4/index.html. A succinct summary of the successes and failures of the scientific enterprise during the pandemic. We will revisit these topics in greater depth in session 9.
*Ross Douthat, When you can’t just “trust the science.” New York Times, Sunday Review p.9,
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-science.html. A conservative columnist explains his discomfort, which I share, about this vague phrase.
Ed Yong, How Science beat the virus: and what it lost in the process. The Atlantic Jan/Feb 2021. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/01/science-covid-19-manhattan-project/617262/ A recent appraisal of issues that we will examine in more detail in session 9 by arguably the most reliable scribe of the pandemic.
*David Adam, Scientists fear that ‘covidization’ is distorting research. Nature Dec. 2, 2020. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03388-w
An appraisal of the effect of the pandemic on other components of the research enterprise.
*Eric Lander, Just when we need it most, science is in danger. Boston Globe October 8, 2020.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/10/08/opinion/just-when-we-need-it-most-science-is-danger/
A short statement of despair about the support of science by the person who will now become President Biden’s science advisor. (We will discuss his career and the way he is elevating the role of science in the Executive Branch in a few sessions.)
Andrew Anthony, Interview with Sir Paul Nurse, The Guardian August 15, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/aug/15/sir-paul-nurse-the-uk-has-taken-a-leap-several-decades-into-the-past An engaging exchange with the former head of Rockefeller University, now the head of the Francis Crick Institute in London about many topics, some related to the pandemic.
*Joshua Rothman, The rules of the game: How does science really work? The New Yorker, Oct. 5, 2020. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/05/how-does-science-really-work An interesting but disputable account of the realities of a career in science by the son of an NIH scientist who choose to be a magazine editor. Fun to read.
*Ronald D. Vale, Keep your eyes on the prize. Cell, 2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30952445/ A sensible, inspirational pre-COVID description of how a career in science brings rewards other than prizes by an outstanding investigator.
Some questions to consider in advance:
–What do we mean when we use the word “science” to describe a career choice?
–What are the features of the sciences, the humanities, and the arts that make them similar or different? What do you think makes them appealing to some people and not to others?
–What are the natural sciences, how have the various types been categorized historically, and how do they differ from other sciences, like political or economic science?
–Education policy often depends on the answers to some of these questions. How has your education (or your plans for future education) been influenced by views on these issues?
–How has the pandemic altered public perceptions of a scientific career?
