Another Example of "human intelligence" which "can't be matched by robots".
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aa.IMqeDrKNM&refer=us
Watson, DNA Discoverer, Retires After Race Remark (Update3)
By Michelle Fay Cortez and John Lauerman
Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- James Watson, winner of the Nobel Prize as co-discoverer of DNA's molecular
structure, retired as chancellor of New York's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory amid a controversy over
racial remarks.
The lab suspended Watson from his position earlier this month after he questioned the intelligence of
Africans during a book tour. Watson announced his decision to retire and leave the lab's board in an
e-mail.
``Closer now to 80 than 79, the passing on of my remaining vestiges of leadership is more than
overdue,'' Watson said in the e-mail. ``The circumstances in which this transfer is occurring, however,
are not those which I could ever have anticipated or desired.''
Watson was quoted Oct. 14 in the Times of London saying he was ``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 apologized in a speech to a private audience at the Royal Society in London, said Kate
Farquhar-Thomson, a spokeswoman for Oxford University Press. Watson said the controversy over his
remarks has focused him on the moral values passed on to him by his mother and father.
Parent's Lives
``To my great advantage, their lives were guided by a faith in reason; an honest application of its
messages; and for social justice, especially the need for those on top to help care for the less
fortunate,'' he said in the e-mail. ``As an educator, I have always striven to see that the fruits of the
American Dream are available to all.''
Watson became director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island's north shore in 1968, the
laboratory said in a statement. Under Watson's direction, scientists have studied the genetic basis of
cancer, the statement said. The laboratory's focus now includes plant biology, neuroscience, and
computational biology.
``For over 40 years, Dr. Watson has made immeasurable contributions to the Laboratory's research and
educational programs,'' Eduardo Mestre, chairman of the laboratory's board, said in the statement. ``His
legacy as 1962 Nobel Prize laureate for describing the structure of DNA will continue to influence
biomedical research for decades to come. The board respects his decision to retire at this point in his
career.''
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aa.IMqeDrKNM&refer=us
Watson, DNA Discoverer, Retires After Race Remark (Update3)
By Michelle Fay Cortez and John Lauerman
Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- James Watson, winner of the Nobel Prize as co-discoverer of DNA's molecular
structure, retired as chancellor of New York's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory amid a controversy over
racial remarks.
The lab suspended Watson from his position earlier this month after he questioned the intelligence of
Africans during a book tour. Watson announced his decision to retire and leave the lab's board in an
e-mail.
``Closer now to 80 than 79, the passing on of my remaining vestiges of leadership is more than
overdue,'' Watson said in the e-mail. ``The circumstances in which this transfer is occurring, however,
are not those which I could ever have anticipated or desired.''
Watson was quoted Oct. 14 in the Times of London saying he was ``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 apologized in a speech to a private audience at the Royal Society in London, said Kate
Farquhar-Thomson, a spokeswoman for Oxford University Press. Watson said the controversy over his
remarks has focused him on the moral values passed on to him by his mother and father.
Parent's Lives
``To my great advantage, their lives were guided by a faith in reason; an honest application of its
messages; and for social justice, especially the need for those on top to help care for the less
fortunate,'' he said in the e-mail. ``As an educator, I have always striven to see that the fruits of the
American Dream are available to all.''
Watson became director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island's north shore in 1968, the
laboratory said in a statement. Under Watson's direction, scientists have studied the genetic basis of
cancer, the statement said. The laboratory's focus now includes plant biology, neuroscience, and
computational biology.
``For over 40 years, Dr. Watson has made immeasurable contributions to the Laboratory's research and
educational programs,'' Eduardo Mestre, chairman of the laboratory's board, said in the statement. ``His
legacy as 1962 Nobel Prize laureate for describing the structure of DNA will continue to influence
biomedical research for decades to come. The board respects his decision to retire at this point in his
career.''
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