‘We should cure cancer,” James Watson declares in a huff, and “we should have the courage to say that we can really do it.” He adds a warning: “If we say we can’t do it, we will create an atmosphere where we just let the FDA keep testing going so pitifully.”
The man who discovered the double helix and gave birth to the field of modern genetics is now 82 years old….[his] determination began””at least formally””in Hyde Park at the age of 15. “The University of Chicago always used to be ranked in the U.S. News and World Report as the third most unpleasant college to go to in the United States,” he chuckles. “It was a place that was knocking you down and expecting you to get up by yourself. Nobody was picking you up.”
He says he’s the better for it because it taught him how to be a leader, something he thinks there are too few of nowadays. “The United States is suffering from a massive lack of leadership. There are some very exceptional, good leaders. I’m not saying they don’t exist, but to be a good leader you generally have to ruffle feathers,” which Dr. Watson believes most people aren’t willing to do.
The whole thing is just wonderful–take the time to read it–KSH (And yes, you guessed it perhaps, the emphasis is mine).