5 ms·

Mysterious Inheritance: A new biography of J.B.S. Haldane

35 points by Hooke 6y ago

8bitsrule 6y ago
Stephen Gould on Haldane: https://web.archive.org/web/20021025161902/http://www.stephenjaygould.org/people/john_haldane.html https://web.archive.org/web/20021025161902/http://www.stephe... Haldane: "Now my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose."
dhosek 6y ago
I read this story by J. B. S. Haldane when I was a kid and have never forgotten it. http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/rats.pdf http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/rats.pdf
- dhosek 6y ago
  I'm thinking I may read it to my kids as their bedtime story tomorrow night. I'll have to include some editorial explanations since the idea of marrying one's daughter off as a prize seems a bit odd now, although when I first read this at age seven or so, I don't think it occurred to me that it was odd.
  - _0ffh 6y ago
    I think it's about being young, you just tend to take all kinds of things in your stride. I'd guess that's because there's just so much you don't know yet that it's just normal to stumble over new things and concepts all of the time. So odd, surprising things are just not that odd or surprising.
- ggm 6y ago
  This is in "my friend Mr Leakey" which is a collection of JBS Haldane children's stories, published by puffin books
ggm 6y ago
The old biography is pretty good.by Ronald Clark. JBS was a Humanist, communist, self-experimentor, lifelong scientist. Often wrong headed. Also worth reading about is JD Bernal, AV Jones, Solly Zuckrmann, and PMS Blackett and the rest of 'the boffins'
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  see also https://blogs.harvard.edu/sj/tag/statistics/ https://blogs.harvard.edu/sj/tag/statistics/ for Haldane, “The Faking of Genetical Results“, Eureka #6 "But I shouldn’t worry too much about the higher orders. The only examiner who is likely to spot that you haven’t done them is Haldane, and he’ll probably be interned as a Red before you send your thesis in."
RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago
Haldane’s essay on “Being the Right Size” is very interesting. http://www.phys.ufl.edu/courses/phy3221/spring10/HaldaneRightSize.pdf http://www.phys.ufl.edu/courses/phy3221/spring10/HaldaneRigh... Be forewarned though, Marvel’s Ant Man will see even less believable and you might annoy your friends if you ask how he is able to see when he shrinks.
- jonah-archive 6y ago
  This is a great essay. If the topic interests you, D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's classic work On Growth And Form is also a worthwhile read: https://archive.org/details/ongrowthform00thom https://archive.org/details/ongrowthform00thom

35 points by Hooke 6y ago

Stephen Gould on Haldane: https://web.archive.org/web/20021025161902/http://www.stephenjaygould.org/people/john_haldane.html https://web.archive.org/web/20021025161902/http://www.stephe... Haldane: "Now my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose."

dhosek 6y ago

I read this story by J. B. S. Haldane when I was a kid and have never forgotten it. http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/rats.pdf http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/rats.pdf

dhosek 6y ago
I'm thinking I may read it to my kids as their bedtime story tomorrow night. I'll have to include some editorial explanations since the idea of marrying one's daughter off as a prize seems a bit odd now, although when I first read this at age seven or so, I don't think it occurred to me that it was odd.
- _0ffh 6y ago
  I think it's about being young, you just tend to take all kinds of things in your stride. I'd guess that's because there's just so much you don't know yet that it's just normal to stumble over new things and concepts all of the time. So odd, surprising things are just not that odd or surprising.
ggm 6y ago
This is in "my friend Mr Leakey" which is a collection of JBS Haldane children's stories, published by puffin books

ggm 6y ago

The old biography is pretty good.by Ronald Clark. JBS was a Humanist, communist, self-experimentor, lifelong scientist. Often wrong headed. Also worth reading about is JD Bernal, AV Jones, Solly Zuckrmann, and PMS Blackett and the rest of 'the boffins'

082349872349872 6y ago
see also https://blogs.harvard.edu/sj/tag/statistics/ https://blogs.harvard.edu/sj/tag/statistics/ for Haldane, “The Faking of Genetical Results“, Eureka #6 "But I shouldn’t worry too much about the higher orders. The only examiner who is likely to spot that you haven’t done them is Haldane, and he’ll probably be interned as a Red before you send your thesis in."

RcouF1uZ4gsC 6y ago

Haldane’s essay on “Being the Right Size” is very interesting. http://www.phys.ufl.edu/courses/phy3221/spring10/HaldaneRightSize.pdf http://www.phys.ufl.edu/courses/phy3221/spring10/HaldaneRigh... Be forewarned though, Marvel’s Ant Man will see even less believable and you might annoy your friends if you ask how he is able to see when he shrinks.

jonah-archive 6y ago
This is a great essay. If the topic interests you, D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's classic work On Growth And Form is also a worthwhile read: https://archive.org/details/ongrowthform00thom https://archive.org/details/ongrowthform00thom