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posted by LaminatorX on Tuesday December 02 2014, @10:30PM   Printer-friendly
from the come-here-I-need-you dept.

Nicholas St. Fleur writes at The Atlantic that in the sad final chapter to a career that traces back to racist remarks he made in 2007, James Watson, the famed molecular biologist and co-discoverer of DNA, is putting his Nobel Prize up for auction, the first Nobel laureate in history to do so. Watson, best known for his work deciphering the DNA double helix alongside Francis Crick in 1953, made an incendiary remark regarding the intelligence of black people that lost him the admiration of the scientific community in 2007 making him, in his own words, an "unperson". That year, The Sunday Times quoted Watson as saying that he felt “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.” Watson added that although some think that all humans are born equally intelligent, “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true.” Watson has a history of making racist and sexist declarations, according to Time. His insensitive off-the-cuff remarks include saying that sunlight and dark skin contribute to “Latin lover” libido, and that fat people lack ambition, which prevents them from being hired. At a science conference in 2012, Watson said of women in science, “I think having all these women around makes it more fun for the men but they’re probably less effective.” To many scientists his gravest offense was not crediting Rosalind Franklin with helping him deduce the structure of DNA.

Watson is selling his prized medallion because he has no income outside of academia, even though for years he had served on many corporate boards. The gold medal is expected to bring in between $2.5 million and $3.5 million when it goes to auction. Watson says that he will use the money to purchase art and make donations to institutions that have supported him, such as the University of Chicago and Watson says the auction will also offer him the chance to “re-enter public life.” “I’ve had a unique life that’s allowed me to do things. I was set back. It was stupid on my part,” says Watson “All you can do is nothing, except hope that people actually know what you are.”

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 02 2014, @11:16PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 02 2014, @11:16PM (#122050)

    I'm not lacking in ambition. I may be slightly deluded in thinking that if I try really, really hard I can achieve something (earning a living, keeping a roof over my head etc.) but the fatness came when I had to start taking anti-depressants. Unfortunately, unless someone invents a cure for clinical depression, I'm going to be a fat git forever. Like I said, I try really hard, but it's never enough...

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 02 2014, @11:26PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 02 2014, @11:26PM (#122054)

    Try less hard. Really, if you are trying as hard as you can and it still isn't working, try less hard. Put less motivation and will behind it. This occasionally is the cure to the paradox of hedonism: the more someone tries to be happy (or lose weight) the less likely they are to achieve it. If you try too hard to lose weight, you become stressed and dissatisfied, even so much as being unable to perceive progress. Culminating in a slowing metabolism, increased hunger, increased eating, and making negative or no progress. Just do things that are shown to reduce weight consistently over a long period without worrying about results. Make it part of your routine. But again, worry not, try less hard.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by jcm on Tuesday December 02 2014, @11:45PM

      by jcm (4110) on Tuesday December 02 2014, @11:45PM (#122061)

      Exactly !
      In fact, even if you do your best, success may not happen.
      The belief is "if I'll do my best, then I'll succeed".
      Success has nothing to do with effort (unless you listen to these lucky CEOs who claim that their success is due to their hard work).
      The consequence of this belief is that when success doesn't happen, you'll feel miserable, because you believe that you didn't put enough effort.

      To the GP:
      I had a massive burn-out, which left me absolutely powerless during several years, so I know that depression happens as long as you try to keep your old way of being, even though it doesn't work.
      Try to find what makes you suffer. Your life probably needs a big clean-up.
      Try to embrace change ! "Change" happens, do not try to force it !

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @12:31AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @12:31AM (#122077)

      Calories in - Calories out = Change in body mass

      Eat less calories and even the medication you're on won't be able to stop the weight loss.
      Sure we have some powerful antidepressants available from doctors today but I haven't heard of one yet that could violate Newton's Laws.

      • (Score: 0, Flamebait) by mj on Wednesday December 03 2014, @01:48AM

        by mj (399) on Wednesday December 03 2014, @01:48AM (#122091)

        oh rly?? how you count the out calories? who's ready to start weighing feces?? then burning it to determine its caloric value?? lulz. you can't know how many calories you're burning because 1/3 of your out calories go to a sodium potassium pump and many many more go to thinking your wishful thoughts.

        --
        The nihilists have such good imaginations.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @05:42PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @05:42PM (#122337)

          Exercise

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @05:21AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @05:21AM (#122135)

        Newtons law concerning the conservation of mass? or the conservation of energy? cal is a measure of energy and energy doesn't translate to mass. Way to keep the convo on topic though, by misapplying scientific concepts and making yourself look like a dick.

        E in - E out = E final

        M in - M out = M final

        am i right? this is why counting calories doesn't help you lose weight really

        The only way to reallllly lose weight and keep it gone is to gain a bunch of muscle mass then sit around sweating as your huge muscles will use a massive amount of calories just trying to maintain themselves, then keep your body in a fat burning state all night by not eating near bed time and you'll sleep the weight right off. Also, you can only lose 1-2 lbs per week due to bodies natural weight set point, which if you gain/ lose more - your metabolism will just change and you'll return to normal.

          Anyway i'm sure newton thought about this topic a ton when he was coming up with his almost completely unrelated laws./s

        • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday December 03 2014, @07:45AM

          by maxwell demon (1608) on Wednesday December 03 2014, @07:45AM (#122156) Journal

          Oh, energy does translate to mass, via E=mc². However if you calculate that mass for the calories of your food, you'll see it's clearly not the one you see on your scales.

          --
          The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @08:00AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @08:00AM (#122161)
        1) Not all calories are the same. If you don't believe me, please go drink some gasoline.
        2) Not all calories are excreted similarly, and by similar people.
        3) http://www.nature.com/news/bacteria-from-lean-cage-mates-help-mice-stay-slim-1.13693
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @09:22AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @09:22AM (#122173)

        SSRIs make you feel really, really hungry (and thirsty) all the time. Even after an enormous meal, the hunger comes back in half an hour. I try to stuff myself with fruit and vegetables, but I always end up giving into the carbs and fatty meat eventually.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @10:59AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @10:59AM (#122193)

          Leave off carbs, but do eat fats. This is the basic principle of "Atkins diet" and its workalikes.
          I used it myself. It works. Rather an easy way to lose weight *without* feeling hungry.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @06:47PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @06:47PM (#122354)

            Atkins leads to ketogenesis and then cannibalization of the brain due to the fact that the brain can only use glucose or protein as an energy source. So although it does put you in a fat burning mode (ketogenesis) not to eat carbs after awhile, you risk your brain using itself as a source of protein as your body shifts to using fat as the sole energy source.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @11:23AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 03 2014, @11:23AM (#122196)

      the more someone tries to be happy (or lose weight) the less likely they are to achieve it

      Not to mention to get offspring.

      Stress is a killer.

    • (Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Wednesday December 03 2014, @04:33PM

      by cubancigar11 (330) on Wednesday December 03 2014, @04:33PM (#122305) Homepage Journal

      I was told this in a Mens Rights training session for depressed (harrassed husbands and fathers without child custody):

      In engineering, if you focus on the problem, the problem gets solved. That is why engineers face more social problems than others. Because in Life, more you focus on the problem, the problem gets bigger. To solve any problem of life, stop focusing on it.