Isn't it sort of fascinating how James Watson, who in his book, Avoid Boring People, defends Larry Summers for his women-in-science remarks, now finds himself on a similar hot seat for remarks impugning the intelligence of black people?
And (sort of) just as Summers would lose his job in the extended aftermath of those remarks, so has Watson been suspended from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory?
Now a clever article in the Telegraph (those Brits! nothing if not clever) suggests that Watson is afflicted with Nobel Syndrome, an ailment that comes to the very intelligent who become so infatuated with their intelligence that they abandon the intellectual rigor which won them the Nobel in the first place.
Nobel Syndrome often emerges after retirement. ...Remove a great mind from this ultra-sceptical environment, then replace it with friends, family and colleagues who are happy to nod and smile when you go old coot, and it is easy to see how a pop star of science ends up talking drivel.
And did you know that winning a Nobel has been found to add two years to your life?
I suspect that Watson has just given those two years back....
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