James Watson, easily one of the most reprehensible of all the Nobel Prize Winners living today, has decided to sell his medal. It’s an unprecedented move. Though other medals have been sold, they were always put on auction by surviving family members of a deceased winner. Mr. Watson will be the first living winner to make this choice.
So why sell it??I’m glad you asked.
Racism
It’s fitting that Mr. Watson won his Nobel Prize in 1953 (for the co-discovery of the double helix of DNA) because when you look at his views on African Americans, women, and society in general, it becomes clear that he’s still stuck there. For years his views were tolerated in the scientific community and the corporate world, but in 2007 he finally said something that people couldn’t overlook.
‘”Watson had been making racist and sexist remarks throughout his career, but he really outdid himself seven years ago when he told the Sunday Times that he was ?inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours?whereas all the testing says not really.? He further said that while we may wish intelligence to be equal across races, ?people who have to deal with black employees find this not true.?’ Slate
I hope I don’t have to tell you that this claim is entirely false and not at all backed up by any scientific evidence. But in case you need a voice besides mine, the director of the National Institutes of Health released a statement that read,
“The comments, which were attributed to Dr. James Watson earlier this week in the London Times, are wrong, from every point of view?not the least of which is that they are completely inconsistent with the body of research literature in this area. Scientific prestige is never a substitute for knowledge. As scientists, we are outraged and saddened when science is used to perpetuate prejudice.” National Institutes of Health
The board of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory certainly knew it. That’s why they fired him although he’d led the board for over 40 years. The president of the Federation of American Scientists went on to say,
“He has failed us in the worst possible way. It is a sad and revolting way to end a remarkable career.”?Slate
Sexism
But this kind of outburst shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone. Mr. Watson has been making similar comments his entire life. Want to hear his view on women in science?
?I think having all these women around makes it more fun for the men but they’re probably less effective.??Slate
That’s pretty rich from a man who owes much of his singular greatest achievement to the hard work of chemist Rosalind Franklin. Of course, he neglected to credit her at all when he published.
Abject Discrimination
What?about his thoughts on people with weight problems?
?”Whenever you interview fat people, you feel bad, because you know you’re not going to hire them,” San Francisco Chronicle
But what does any of this have to do with selling his medal?
Everything. When people finally tired of the vitriol this man spewed all over everyone who didn’t fit his ideal concepts, they chose to move on. And now that he’s?no longer able to maintain the lifestyle to which he’d become accustomed, he’s selling off what should be his most prized possession to recapture it.
So is this going to be the story of a man that has seen the error of his ways and is now looking to recapture his lost honor with a humble heart? Not hardly.
‘”Watson blames his unpopularity in certain circles on being ?outed as believing in IQ.?’ I Fucking Love Science
If that’s not self delusion, I don’t know what is.
What do you think of this mad scientist? Let us know in the comments below!
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