The Double Helix Summary

A Humble and Shallow Review of The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James D Watson

As a piece of book review as regards the book The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, written by James D. Walter in an autobiographic tone, this paper aims at offering a preliminary glimpse of the nature of scientific discovery and the constraints of scientific specialization as well as women’s role in science. Just like James Watson said, no two people ever see the same event in exactly the same light, on the basis of which the author of this paper humbly puts forward his own point of view on this extraordinary book but for sharing his ideas. The related points concerning such
During the disentangling of the structure of DNA, a great deal of what used to be kept in the dark such as surreptitious peeks at other scientists’ data, withheld information and gloating over a competitor making a public blunder were brought into light by Watson’s objectively reporting manner, which highlights the principal merits of such a renowned book. Of equal importance is the fact that the book relates the intense competition surrounding the discovery of structure of DNA and Watson’s trial and error of trying to unravel the nature of life. "Science seldom proceeds in the straightforward logical manner imagined by outsiders. Instead, its steps forward (and sometimes backward) are often very human events in which personalities and cultural traditions play major roles.”(Watson, P.3). From this perspective are my points of view deduced. Put it another way, the personalities of the main characters in such a revolutionary discovery have exerted great
He does not believe that the way of the discovery of DNA stands an odd exception to a scientific world complicated by the contradictory pulls of ambition and the sense of fair play. The book serves the purpose of disclosing the mechanism of how scientific work was carried out and operated between different scientists from different fields with the only and sole aim of tackling the mystery of the structure of DNA. In so doing, Watson had succeeded in giving expression to all the intricacy of science and subtlety of social interrelationship. Watson, in the eyes of the author of this paper, is a prudential yet seemingly canny scientist. He is diplomatic enough to make false reports about his location of research, yet he is unrelenting enough in his pursuit of unmasking the true colors of DNA. He at that time perceived DNA research a promising and challenging project which is worth his unremitting quest. With such a firm belief in mind, Watson, combined with the exceptional efforts of Crick, has made possible the discovery of the structure of