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Article: The Nature of Things
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- July 12, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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WHAT IS it about scientists that compels them to write books, in
particular books of essays? Whether it is physicist James Trefil
reflecting on the nature of the physical world, neurologist Oliver
Sacks relating his bizarre clinical tales or oncologist Lewis Thomas
drawing lessons from life at the cellular level, each of these
accomplished scientists (and many more) has taken time from his main
pursuits in laboratory or clinic to write.
There are of course many motives for writing, and many kinds of
scientific writing. The worst of it is self-aggrandizement; the
most innocent is the popularizing work of such as Stephen Jay Gould
and Carl Sagan, who want to convey to the masses the ...