Matthew Cobb

I think the only thing I'd add is that...

Although he did do these things, the other thread that runs through the book is he always had somebody else.

He had to have another researcher, whether it was Sidney Brenner, Jim Watson, Christoph Koch, Peter Lawrence, every stage...

They were mainly men, mainly young, always younger than him, mainly from different countries.

So it was kind of like something else.

You know, if he could just talk to himself, that would have been useless.

He needed somebody else who he could argue with in this very confrontational but friendly style.

You had to be able to say whatever you thought and come up with crazy ideas and the person you're talking to could shoot them down or you could then develop them.

Brenner called these mad sessions that they had.

And that is...

You know, he had time to think.

When asked what he did, he said, I read and I think.

Most academics don't have that, right?

You know, he was privileged to have a research-only job and work in a field where he could just think and come up with ideas, partly because he was clever, partly because of the areas he was working in.

He didn't have to ask for money.

As I said, just one big grant in his whole life.

And, you know,

So in a way, he was living in an idyllic age.

For most scientists today, wouldn't recognize that.

It would be impossible.