It Has Been A Privilege To Pursue

I Was Never Very Good At Exams, Having A Poor Memory And Finding The Examination Process Rather Artificial, And There Never Seemed To Be Enough Time To Follow Up Things That Really Interested Me.

After An Extensive Interview He Arranged For My Weaknesses In Foreign Languages To Be Over-looked And So I Started A Biology Degree At Birmingham In 1967.

Like Many Students, I Found The Drudgery Of Real Experiments And The Slowness Of Progress A Complete Shock, And At My Low Points I Contemplated Other Alternative Careers Including Study Of The Philosophy Or Sociology Of Science.

I Had A Great Time Investigating The Pigments Of Different Mutant Fruit Flies By Following Experimental Protocols Published In Scientific American, And I Also Remember Making My Own Beetle Collection When It Was Still Acceptable To Make Such Collections.

I Felt Strongly That Since The Pursuit Of Good Science Was So Difficult It Was Essential That The Problem Being Studied Was An Important One To Justify The Effort Expanded.