No. 3
Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the
assignment below.
A colleague of the great scientist James Watson remarked that Watson was always
“lounging around, arguing about problems instead of doing experiments.” He
concluded that “There is more than one way of doing good science.” It was Watson’
s form of idleness, the scientist went on to say, that allowed him to solve “the greatest
of all biological problems: the discovery of the structure of DNA.” It is a point worth
remembering in a society overly concerned with efficiency.
Adapted from John C. Polanyi, “Understanding Discovery”
Assignment: Do people accomplish more when they are allowed to do things
in their own way? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on
this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading,
studies, experience, or observations.