Succeeding in Science - Some Rules of Thumb: Difference between revisions

And that brings me to my third rule: '''Be sure you always have someone up your sleeve who will save you when you find yourself in deep s—.''' Francis Crick and I were both in trouble at various times in our careers, but that never really stopped us, because we always found someone who would save us. In Cambridge, both Max Perutz and John Kendrew stood behind us. John, for example, promised to let me live for free in his Tennis Court Road house after Paul Weiss had cut off my stipend. But I think of many bright scientists (our DNA hunting competitor, Rosalind Franklin, was one) who, when they found themselves in trouble, had no one who would or could save them.  

Luria first saved me when, as a mere graduate student, I outraged a prominent professor, Ralf Cleland, who wanted to make me take histology. I considered that course a waste of my time. And I said just that with Cleland in the room as part of my thesis committee. Luria was, of course, very upset with my bluntness. But he didn't join forces with Cleland and force me to waste my time doing silly drawings when I could be having fun with phages. So I went out into the world ignorant of histology.