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The Double Helix is a lively, scandalous book written by James D. Watson that almost stands alone in science as it gives acco
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The Double Helix
The Double Helix is a lively, scandalous book written by James D. Watson that almost stands alone in science as it gives account of chief scientific findings in history. This remarkable piece of writing is highly engaging and apart from science explanation, the story gives analysis of Watson’s demanding societal life and disordered relationship. Most books with scientific explanations are normally boring but this book comes out to be an exceptional one since it still compels the reader after reading for a long time. This Double Helix greatly makes sense which involves personal letters, photographs and other reprints surfaces out experiences that appeal to eyes and mind.
Watson has actually not limited his work to scientific issues but has also initiated unparalleled incursion of the scientists into principled and societal jurisdictions. The harsh, idiosyncratic, contrary and irritable behavior arouses a mixture of approval and barbarity. However, it is undeniable that the tone used in this book is down perhaps because the smooth presentation would make the book more appealing even to people without any knowledge in biology. The book has really reflected the period of creativity and competitiveness in science.
The book is very inspiring particularly to the upcoming scientists since it gives them freedom to pursue their concepts and creativities. Watson seems to write about stories that are offending but the presence of the natural frankness excuses him from being accused. He portrays himself to have had serious accountabilities compared to others. The Double Helix draughts along and is full of gossip articles which largely talked about his companion Francis Crick who helped him in pursuing DNA (Watson 19-29).
The Double Helix has a lot of information regarding Watson’s autobiography even as it implant itself in an antique perspective but makes the audience appreciate the stuff and content of the book. The book successfully provides a recount of each pace in science both frontward and recessive. The author does not describe or write the novel in an historic perspective but he did it in a unique style by recording his mind during discovery. It is interesting to read the book as it reflects a young scientist’s views and youthful occurrences such as partying with women. Nevertheless, Watson could have not written all about his feelings which are really hurting others. He did not consider any risk that may arise by openly airing his views and setting down meticulous truth even if it was unbecoming (Watson 48-56).
Watson showed that he did not have domination on disapproval for his fellow scientists like Franklin in his attempt to build a DNA prototype. It is apparent that his initial attempt to build the model was disastrous just because he could not even remember the way it was stated by the lecturer. He was even asked to go back and study thoroughly especially the protein study after serious humiliation in pointing out the errors. Fortunately he was motivated in carrying out with his DNA model amidst challenges making this book to remain as an event and an unforgettable account (Watson 129-134).
The Double Helix shows many frustrations of the scientific works as well as much disapproval that scientists undergo before completing their work. Watson being one of the scientists brings these scientific challenges in a very clear and professional manner that makes the book even more interesting. The several accounts depicted in the book as well as memoirs from Watson have successfully made the book unique and amazing. Watson also shows how narrow mindedness some scientists are because they only focus on the little they know which turn them to be less important individuals at times. The Double Helix is indeed persuasive due to some of the causes of offence portrayed in it thus presenting science as a chaotic and jumbled discipline (Watson 130-134).
However, Watson makes one to think that apart from negative attributes of science, progression of science largely depend on other people’s success and eventually the victors are rewarded. The book shows how Crick and Watson who, apart from having some funny behaviors defy the authority to face a great scientific task to discover transmission of biological information. The shared interest between the two prompts them to unmask their intentions by pretending to be observing hidden things which everyone cannot see. Although it is not easy to use this tactic, Watson shows how some senior scientists overlook other people’s work especially in the undisputed triumph (Watson 129-134). Conclusively, the book is very interesting and even if it was not embraced very well at the time of its release in 1968 it must be having more readers than before. The Double Helix is scientific ally exciting and compulsive thus making it a great scientific success book.
Works Cited
Watson, James D. The Double Helix; a Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of Dna. New York: Atheneum, 1968. Print.
Poverty has been understood to be a multifaceted concept
Poverty
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Poverty
Poverty has been understood to be a multifaceted concept because it includes all aspects of the environment that comprise of the economic, social and political components. The term poverty can be defined as the lack of enough money to meet the basic needs. Poverty has been identified as the scarcity of food, clothing and shelter because of the lack of money and possessions. Most third world countries in the world have higher poverty rates, and this has been a significant hindrance towards creating and developing a sustainable future. Most communities that are poverty-stricken fail to meet their needs, and they are at risk of facing various social problems that they cannot manage to address. Poverty-prone nations have tried their best to address this issue of poverty by using different approaches and strategies, but some have failed because poverty is deprivation in well-being. And it has been identified as a complex issue that needs to be addressed by all means to avoid further challenges.
Adverse effects of poverty on human well-being
Debt increases the level of stress in the poverty-stricken families. Family members become frazzled because they do not have the sufficient finances to support their families. They lack food to eat, clothes to wear, and may lack a favourable house to live in. This stress spurs mixed reactions amongst family members, and they may engage in violence because of their financial uncertainty. Studies indicate that job loss and poverty are interconnected hence are associated with the disorder in clans (Fair et al., 2016). Children are abused because there is no money to feed them, pay their school fees and there are no funds to buy them new clothes to wear. This increases the level of stress especially in parents who find it difficult to make ends meet. Research shows that most men end up starting fights with their wives because they find it difficult to provide for their families.
Poverty has been associated with the prevalence of illnesses within the society. An unfortunate member of a community does not have the ability to seek medical attention because he or she cannot afford better healthcare. As a result, diseases are universal in their community, and they spread very fast. This has resulted in the death of many because the people lack the money to access healthcare services. The available services are too expensive for them to afford. Therefore, this indicates that poverty affects societal well-being and it paves the way for the prevalence of diseases in the sick society (Gornick & Nell, 2017). Poverty also demoralizes the society because they lack the funds to address the emerging social problems. Therefore, community development and sustainability are affected, and nations fail to secure the future of the next generations.
Extreme poverty leads to homelessness, and this puts families at risk because it affects the proper growth and development of children. Homeless families fail to receive adequate nutrition, and their children are not immunized as required. This puts the lives of children at risk because most of them end up being malnourished and are prone to different diseases such as anaemia and kwashiorkor. Most of the third world countries have recorded high child mortality rates because children live in poor conditions that do not support their growth and development fully and in a hygienic manner.
Consequences of bringing up children in poor environments
Children brought up in needy families tend to miss school because their parents cannot afford to pay school fees or they are sick, and their guardians do not have the funds to seek medical attention. There is little or nothing these children can do to help their families. As a result, they are prone to child labour and domestic violence. Growing up in such an environment does not support growth and development. They are more likely to learn poor health behaviours and are at higher risk of having mental illnesses at some point in their life (Worku et al., 2017). Those that live in constant poverty have poor cognitive development because they are not able to participate in social and celebratory activities. This has a negative impact on their overall self-esteem because they are unable to build friendships since they feel inferior in the society. Most of them grow up to be very poor because there are no resources that can help in their cognitive and emotional development. Their failure to associate with others limits them to acquire social interaction skills that could be of help in their future (Levin, 2018). This indicates that children raised in needy families are affected psychologically and emotionally and have poor cognitive development.
Economic and political effects of poverty
Studies indicate that poverty has become a political and economic problem and this trend seems to be on the rise especially in developing countries. Poverty is linked to the increased risk of war where countries have failed to cope with the world economy. Nations attempt to find raw materials and new markets for their products by going to war with other states to help them improve their situation. Mass emigration of populations is connected to poverty because people migrate from poverty-prone areas to areas that can help them meet the basic needs (Musterd et al., 2016). Poverty also leads to increased terrorism as the poor communities seek to find new ways to sustain themselves amid lack of resources and funds.
On the other hand, poverty causes an economic breakdown of a region or community because people are too poor to afford water, shelter, food, as well as clothing. Furthermore, they are unhealthy, and people fail to get educated. This affects the economy of a nation and countries lag behind in terms of economic growth and development. The poor are forced to move to other regions in search for better living conditions, and this deprives the society the workforce to carry out various job opportunities. As the people relocate from rural areas to urban areas, they facilitate the growth of slums, increase crime-related activities, and put substantial pressure on the available social amenities (Musterd et al., 2016). This is problematic because governments incur a lot of costs to address the different social problems that emerge. These people also do not have the skills to aid in job searching. Hence, they form gangs that terrorize people in major cities and towns.
References
Fair, C. C., Littman, R., Malhotra, N., & Shapiro, J. N. (2016). Relative poverty, perceived violence, and support for militant politics: Evidence from pakistan. Political Science Research and Methods, 1-25.
Gornick, J. C., & Nell, E. (2017). Children, Poverty, and Public Policy: A Cross-National Perspective (No. 701). LIS Working Paper Series.
Levin, J. N. (2018). When the Basic Necessities of Life Are Missing: The Impact of Poverty on Children. In Assisting Young Children Caught in Disasters (pp. 93-101). Springer, Cham.
Musterd, S., Murie, A., & Kesteloot, C. (2016). NEIGHBOURHOODS OF POVERTY. Palgrave Macmillan.
Worku, B. N., Abessa, T. G., Vanvuchelen, M., Bruckers, L., Kolsteren, P., & Granitzer, M. (2017). Limited psychosocial stimulation and nutritional problems as associates of developmental performances of children in extreme poverty in Jimma, Ethiopia.
Standpoint Theory
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Standpoint Theory
Section A: Definitions
Sandra Harding – A philosopher of science at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has most advanced standpoint theory among feminist scholars
Julia Wood – A professor of communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has championed and applied standpoint theory within the field of communication.
Social location – standpoint theorists emphasize this because they are convinced that people at the top of social hierarchy are Privileged to define what it means to be female or male
Standpoint – an achieved position based on a social location that lends an interpretative aspect to a person’s life
Georg Hegel – German philosopher whose 1807 analysis of the master-slave relationship revealed that what people “know” depends upon which group they are in and that the powerful control received knowledge
Jean-Francoise Lyotard – a postmodernist who favors a stance of “incredulity toward metanarratives,” including Enlightenment rationality and Western science
Local knowledge – Knowledge that is situated in time, place, and experience in your specific amount of power
Strong objectivity – the strategy of starting research from the lives of women and other marginalized groups, thus providing a less false view of reality
Patricia Hill Collins – African American sociologist at Brandeis University, who claims the patterns of “intersecting oppressions” means that black women are in a different marginalized place in society than white women or black men
Seyla Benhabib – Professor of political science and philosophy at Yale University who maintains that a universal ethical standard is a viable possibility.
Intersectionality – All aspects of a person’s identity are intertwined, mutually constituting each other.
Section B: Discussion questions
Describe standpoint theory in your own words with at least three examples of perspective of the theory.
Standpoint refers to perspectives of a person. The theory depicts that different locations within the social hierarchy affect what is seen. The standpoints of marginalized people provide less false views of the world than do the privileged perspectives of the powerful. Strong objectivity requires that scientific research start from the lives of women, the poor, gays and lesbians, and racial minorities. Some examples of the standpoint theory include:
Policy formations for the poor and marginalized such as old and orphans, policy makers don’t really understand what problems are faced by the marginalized as they have a different perspective.
People feel inferior for growing up in a specific culture for example people with disability feels inferior and does not try to rise above it by doing what they can despite their disability.
Men and women face different problems for example men never face menstruation and pregnancy like women and therefore don’t understand women’s perspective.
What is common to the standpoints of women, Africans Americans, the poor, and members of the LGBTQ community that may provide them with a less false view of the way society works?
The most common thing about this group is that they all the victims thus face the problems and can be regarded as the marginalized. Marginalized and differently abled individuals have a better outlook and possess a better standpoint as they tend to view more of the world than the fortunate, that is compared to those who don’t face the problems such as the rich and powerful. The marginalized have more motivation to gain perspectives on various issues while others are busy protecting their status and status quo.