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In this book, 36 famous chemists, including 18 Nobel laureates, tell about their lives in science, the beginnings of their careers, their aspirations, and their hardships and triumphs. The reader will learn about their seminal discoveries, and the conversations in the book bring out the humanity of these great scientists. NMR spectroscopy, computational chemistry, the drama of buckminsterfullerene, the story of the Pill, the politics of atmospheric chemistry and the resonance theory, the beginnings of molecular mechanics and modern stereochemistry are examples of the topics discussed first-hand by, in all likelihood, the most appropriate persons.
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There is the Richard Lewontin nonbiologists know, the author of acerbic, thoughtful, witty, unhesitatingly leftist books such as Not in Our Genes and the essays from The New York Review of Books collected in It Ain't Necessarily So. This is the other Lewontin, the hardcore scientist, one of the most insightful evolutionary biologists going.
The Triple Helix is a manifesto for the life sciences: "The time has come when further progress in our understanding of nature requires that we reconsider the relationship between the outside and the inside, between organism and environment." Lewontin is not arguing for what he calls "obscurationist holism," but for a more complex interaction between gene, organism, and environment, in which they construct each other:
.... It is the biology, indeed the genes, of an organism that determines its effective environment, by establishing the way in which external physical signals become incorporated into its reactions.... Whatever the autonomous processes of the outer world may be, they cannot be perceived by the organism. Its life is determined by the shadows on the wall, passed through a transforming medium of its own creation.
Lewontin argues for a life science that faces up to reality, that tackles the problems of studying subtle processes in complex systems where three-dimensional shape is crucial. The journal Nature "cannot recommend [the book] too highly for the many commentators and headline writers who think that DNA is the blueprint for the organism"--or for their readers. --Mary Ellen Curtin
Book Description
One of our most brilliant evolutionary biologists, Richard Lewontin has also been a leading critic of those--scientists and non-scientists alike--who would misuse the science to which he has contributed so much. In The Triple Helix, Lewontin the scientist and Lewontin the critic come together to provide a concise, accessible account of what his work has taught him about biology and about its relevance to human affairs. In the process, he exposes some of the common and troubling misconceptions that misdirect and stall our understanding of biology and evolution.
The central message of this book is that we will never fully understand living things if we continue to think of genes, organisms, and environments as separate entities, each with its distinct role to play in the history and operation of organic processes. Here Lewontin shows that an organism is a unique consequence of both genes and environment, of both internal and external features. Rejecting the notion that genes determine the organism, which then adapts to the environment, he explains that organisms, influenced in their development by their circumstances, in turn create, modify, and choose the environment in which they live.
The Triple Helix is vintage Lewontin: brilliant, eloquent, passionate, and deeply critical. But it is neither a manifesto for a radical new methodology nor a brief for a new theory. It is instead a primer on the complexity of biological processes, a reminder to all of us that living things are never as simple as they may seem.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting book: OTHER things than DNA structure our lives.......2003-06-13
This an interesting book by an author who, pretty much, stopped writing when he completed his message.
His main message is that DNA is not the be-all and end-all when it comes to the structure of life. Other important factors are the conditions within the organism's cell (including what chemicals are present, and how the DNA folds), what the organism's environment is, and how the organism changes that environment.
Lewontin worries that because scientists can now easily analyze and manipulate genetic structure, scientists will overemphasize research on the DNA structure itself, leaving other important and significant biology unstudied.
The author also points out that while dramatic mutations are chosen to study mutations, many mutations aren't so dramatic, and that some of the "dramatic mutations" are in fact the combination of several lesser mutations.
The writing is unnecessarily complex in places, including one passage where the author claims "Causal claims are usually ceteris paribus, but in biology all other things are almost never equal." How many readers recognize the Latin phrase "ceteris paribus" ? The author also buys into the duality so common in discourse: _either_ DNA is the only important thing, _or_ DNA is a minor side-issue. What happened to the middle road?
Excellent non technical overview.......2002-05-11
Ok, so my review will be short. I believe this book is excelent since it accomplish to set clear why genetic determinism is wrong. Genes do not act by their own, they do so inside a cell which (at least in multicelular organisms) is just one more in millions (being that a prudent estimate to a small organism) whith whom it comunicates. Now, this is just part of the story, you still have to consider this organism lives in a specific habitat in which it develops (crucial step) and in which it feeds, moves (if it can), etc. So utimately genes are a full orchestra directed by surroundings.
I highly recomend this book to anyone interested in Molecular Biology, Genetics or Developmental Biology, it is basic but esential.
A triple knot for 'popular genetics'.......2001-07-16
Like everything else in life why should the reading of the Human Genome remain free discussion and debate on its merits and its false promises? THE TRIPLE HELIX like another recent book in the same vein - THE CENTURY OF THE GENE, - take it as their duty to throw cold water on all the happy gene talk in recent popular science books.
The Human Genome Project is not the primary target for criticism here; what Mr Lewontin objects to is the simplified approach of popular biology that insists on treating genes, organisms, and environments as distinctly seperate. Instead "taken together, the relations of genes, organisms, and environment are reciprocal relations in which all three elements are both cause and effects. Genes and environment are both causes of organisms, which are, in turn, causes of environments, so that genes become causes of environments as mediated by the organism." Quite plainly he says that organisms alter, modify, or in some cases create, their environments. Therefore in the great either/or debate on nature versus nurture, Mr Lewontin would argue it's neither/nor.
Taking neither side of the debate may lead one to believe that Mr Lewontin is then a supporter of a new theory, or an advocate of a new approach to determining biological truths. Not so. "It is not new principles that we need but a willingness to accept the consequences of the fact that biological systems occupy a different region of the space of physical relations than do simpler physico-chemical systems...that is, organisms are internally heterogeneous open systems."
General readers can manage the book because Mr Lewontin writes well, and in being critical, he takes time to explain his views. He's a leftist so he hits out at the usual targets, but he's also an independent thinker so sacred subjects of the left such as conservationism and protecting the environment also get a bit of stick. He believes that environments exist only with reference to the animals and plants that inhabit them, and furthermore, an environment can not be held in an unchanging state.
I enjoy reading some of the popular biology books that Mr Lewontin criticizes and his views on some of my pet subjects made me sit up. You need thick skin when reading Mr Lewontin but there are few better to learn from.
Why the genome project may disappoint.......2001-01-28
This little book contains three lectures given by Lewontin at the Lezioni Italiani in Milan a few years ago. It is technical and aimed at an educated readership. Since there is not enough space here to discuss the entire book, I will concentrate on a brief discussion of the first, "Gene and Organism."
In this lecture Professor Lewontin outlines the role that genes, environment and chance ("random noise") play in the development of an organism. As he phrases it on page 20: "the organism is not specified by its genes, but is a unique outcome of an ontogenetic process that is contingent on the sequence of environments in which it occurs." This means that you could take the same genetic code and have it unfurl in Hyde Park and get an organism different from one you would get having it unfurl on, say, the Boston commons. Lewontin shows how cuttings from the same plant cultured at different altitudes developed differentially, and in a manner that could not be predicted. The reason they could not be predicted is that there is a significant amount of random variation ("developmental noise") that occurs as the plant grows. Lewontin gives the further example of a multiplying bacterium on page 37. The bacterium divides in 63 minutes. In another 63 minutes the daughter cells should divide again, giving four bacteria, but actually there is some random variation in how long it takes them to divide, so that one daughter divides in say 55 minutes, the other in an hour and five minutes. And this continues so that the bacteria culture does not increase in pulses, but continuously in random increments. This difference in timing in multi-cellar organisms may result in morphological differences since a catalytic enzyme may arrive too late to, say, grow a side bristle on a fruit fly (an example that Lewontin gives). Lewontin applies this understanding to the development of our brains on page 38. First there are random connections set. "Those connections that are reinforced from external inputs during neural development are stabilized, while the others decay and disappear." This process, Lewontin advises us, can lead to differences in cognitive function that are neither strictly genetic nor strictly environmental. They are influenced by random (unpredictable) factors.
This understanding is the reason that Lewontin is less than thrilled with the Human Genome Project. He believes, as he makes clear in another book, It Ain't Necessary So: The Dream of the Human Genome and Other Illusions (2000), that we will be disappointed by what can be accomplished simply from sequencing the genetic code, his point being that even though we know the code, the environmental and random factors cannot be known in any precise or predictive sense. It is true that the genome for a chimp will always code for a chimp and never for a rabbit, but whether that chimp is good at math or has unusually aggressive tendencies is something we cannot know from an understanding of the genetic code alone. Chance and environmental factors in development can result in a passive chimp even though its parents are aggressive.
Applying this idea to evolution in general, we can see that individual variation is not strictly a result of environmental differences but also of chance differences. Consequently, what we are is not shaped strictly by adaptive pressure (natural selection) but is to some extent the result of purely random processes. At one time in my life I studied chance and random events, and one of the most important things I learned is that the term "random" is not clearly defined, except in the sense that something that is random is unpredictable, which is a "you can't prove a negative" sort of definition. I also learned that there is considerable doubt as to whether a truly randomizing device actually exists. All real world devices, such as roulette wheels and computer random number algorithms can be shown to have some tiny bias, or to break down at the extremes. (Don't trust the random number generator on your computer when you are generating a very large number of trials: it will begin to repeat, and your Monte Carlo simulation will be flawed.) So what Lewontin calls "random events" are actually events that we simply do not know enough about to describe accurately. It may be that with greater ability we will eventually be able to describe or control these events. However, it may also be that at some level such events are the direct result of the probabilistic nature of a quantum event, and therefore in principle unpredictable. I suspect that Lewontin believes something like this.
In the second lecture Lewontin makes the point that to a significant degree organisms create their environment, and it is wrong to think of a place (such as the surface of the moon) without organisms as an environment. His dictum is "...[T]here are no environments without organisms" (p. 67). In the third lecture Lewontin discusses some of the problems associated with genetic causation and its analysis. There is a fourth chapter in which Lewontin attempts to provide some direction for future studies in biology.
I did not understand his assertion on page 81 that "Only a quasi-religious commitment to the belief that everything in the world has a purpose would lead us to provide a functional explanation for fingerprint ridges or eyebrows or the patches of hair on men's chests." The hair, I imagine is the result of sexual selection, but surely the fingerprint ridges allow us a better grip, and our eyebrows shade the sunlight as well as providing some small cushioning for our eye sockets.
Highly recommended.......2001-01-08
This little book is a nearly perfect antidote to books like Matt Ridley's Genome which tend to overstate the importance of decoding the human genome. In this wide-ranging discussion, Lewontin argues, among other things, that genes do not 'compute' organisms, and that organisms actively 'construct' their own environments. Lewontin's writing is elegant and concise. He succeeds in communicating (sometimes difficult) concepts in ways that a layman can understand.
P.S. The book information given above, as to page count, is inaccurate: I count 136 pages, not 192. Indeed, my only minor complaint is that the book is rather expensive, considering its length.
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Defying Genomania.(Review): An article from: American Scientist
Rob Dorit
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Advances in Solid State Physics / Volume 43 (Advances in Solid State Physics)
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Book Description
The present volume, 43 of
Advances in Solid State Physics, contains the written versions of most of the plenary and invited lectures of the Spring Meeting of the Condensed Matter Physics section of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft held from March 24 to 28, 2003 in Dresden, Germany. Many of the topical talks given at the numerous and very lively symposia are also included. They covered an extremely interesting selections of timely subjects. Thus the book truly reflects the status of the field of solid state physics in 2003, and explains its attractiveness, not only in Germany but also internationally.
Customer Reviews:
ok.......2007-05-14
This book was alright but there are def better choices...check out the fear of flying website...
Best of its kind.......2005-12-30
I have looked at all of them--being a frequent flyer myself--and this one is defenitely the best in the bunch. Well rounded, and well written. If you have to make a choice, I'd go with this one. Enjoy.
excellent advice here.......2005-12-30
This is a very well rounded general book for the nervous flyer -- of which I am one. It is reassuring and knowledgeable. The part that deals with the fear itself is extremely helpful. And the practical hints are handy tool. I have gone back to Hartman's soothing voice many times and have become a much more confident and relaxed traveler as a result. I recommend it.
More like "Flying for Dummies".......2002-03-13
If you have never flown, haven't flown for years, or haven't flown much but circumstances dictate you will fly a lot in the future, this is a good book to read. It contains a lot of very basic-yet useful-information for the novice flyer. There's a lot of info about basic rules for luggage, clearing security, where to fly on planes, handling general flying SNAFU's and hassles and so on.
What there isn't a lot of is useful information about dealing with the "fear of flying" syndrome. If you have mild anxiety due to unfamiliarity or uncertainty about the overall experience, this book is helpful. If you fear is more along the lines of a phobia, this book is useless.
From a general information standpoint the book deserves more than 2 stars, but the title is so misleading I had to dock it stars, mainly because I think a lot of people are buying this for information it just doesn't contain. Flying for Dummies or What You Need to Know About Flying A to Z would have been more honest, accurate title choices.
Making Peace with Planes and Fear of Flying.......2001-12-20
I am one of those people who had a dread of flying my whole life. I did it, but I hated it, and it took a lot out of me. Especially after a long flight, I was done in for days. This book was extremely helpful in getting me beyond my fear of flying.
By following the exercises in the book, I have been able to retool my attitude to flying. I do a refresher before each flight. I can now work while traveling on a plane--something that would
have been inconceivable before because I was so fearful and distracted. Now, I can even sleep on a plane--also previously
inconceivable. But even more amazing to me, if I sit by the window I can enjoy looking out at the amazing views of mountains, rivers,
fields, or cities by night.
The quality of my life has been vastly improved by being able to fly without high anxiety since it's difficult to live a normal life and never travel by plane. This book also offers excellent information about choosing seats, how to deal with bothersome seat mates, how not to get dehydrated, etc., all things that I can now
turn my attention to.
This is an excellent book--the best I've found
on the subject. Plus, it's beautifully produced with arty and amusing drawings.
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2 Cassettes, Approximate time: 4 hours.
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Trepidation
Santino Nerelli
Manufacturer: Athena Press Publishing Company
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Trepidations
Daniel Lynch
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Adelia Mays is just too beautiful for words. She is very intelligent, a true CEO if there ever was one. Really overqualified for that \'right guy.\'
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Moving with ease from the sordid tables of the Wrong Number Bar on the west side of Detroit, to the expansive Italian Villa of the Mafia's Sicilian don himself. Carl E. Prichard had scored another triumph of fast paced action with his third novel, VIRTUOUS TREPIDATION. As intrigue and happenstance link high priced prostitutes, quick thinking strong armed thieves, and the cold cruel business world of the Mafia, you find yourself drawn into a world you hope is only fiction, yet you know is very real. From the stench of Shaggy Dog's unkempt life style to the glitz of Las Vegas, the French Foreign Legend to Father Timothy's fight to save his parishioners, this is a novel that will keep you turning pages long into the night.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Planning, published by American Planning Association on June 1, 1995. The length of the article is 2672 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: The rash of fires that has plagued California has more to do with conflict between fire and local planning than with bad luck. This conflict is growing as more Californians settle in or around wildlands. It is most apparent in fire-razed areas, where political pressure to rebuild outweighs replanning. Environmental protection, too, has thwarted effective fire prevention planning and laws.
Citation Details
Title: Burn California, burn: pessimists view the start of another dry season with trepidation.(includes article about Federal Emergency Management Agency document 'Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction')
Author: William Fulton
Publication:
Planning (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 1995
Publisher: American Planning Association
Volume: v61
Issue: n6
Page: p4(5)
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Channel 4 entering reality phase with trepidation. (British TV): An article from: Video Age International
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Title: Channel 4 entering reality phase with trepidation. (British TV)
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- Clusters of Atoms and Molecules II: Solvation and Chemistry of Free Clusters, and Embedded, Supported and Compressed Clusters (Springer Series in Chemical Physics)
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