Dragaera

Re: Favorite NON-fiction  

Randi128 at aol.com Randi128 at aol.com
Tue Jan 28 10:28:51 PST 2003

>Be that as it may, it was, in fact, Watson and Crick who discovered the 
>the actual structure of DNA, which is a double-helix and who, properly, 
deserve 
>the credit for that work. This isn't to say that Franklins contributions are 
not 
>unfairly overlooked, but that is the nature of scientific celebrity.

It is not unusual for several different scientists, or teams of scientists, 
to be working on the same theory at the same time. The one that puplishes 
first, gets the credit, even if thier research is based upon another persons 
initial research. Remember- one source is called plagiarism, several sources 
is called research.  

Bear in mind that all scientific discovery is based upon earlier research and 
that every scientist is indebted to those who went before them. Einstein was 
emphatic about this subject, he insisted that his ideas were nothing more 
than elaborations on theories and ideas that were already in place. Don't 
forget that his first wife, her name escapes me, and no, the irony is not 
lost on me, is now believed to have made major contributions to his theory of 
reletivity, several academic historians believe she should get all or most of 
the credit for it.

John D. Barbato, OD