Weldon, Bateson, and the origins of genetics: Reflections on the unraveling and rebuilding of a scientific community
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Science, like most forms of human activity, is occasionally liable to lose sight of its ultimate ends under a flood of controversy, the strugglings of personal ambition, or the fight for pecuniary rewards or less physical honors . . .But science, no less than theology or philosophy, is the field for personal influence, for the creation of enthusiasm, and, for the establishment of ideals of self-discipline and self-development."-KarlPearson [1] More than a century has passed since the publication of R.A. Fisher's 1918 paper "The correlation between relatives on the supposition of mendelianAU : Pleasenotethatallinstancesof Mendelianhav inheritance".Celebrated across the world as a major turning point in the young science of genetics, the paper formally reconciled mendelian and biometric approaches to inheritance by introducing the concepts of variance and polygenicity and laying the groundwork for the complex trait liability threshold model, which remains highly relevant to modern human genetics [2].While many in the field of human genetics are aware of this work, few are aware of the controversy that preceded it.It is an origin story for the field of human genetics, filled with both drama and discovery.The lessons herein resonate today as we continue to contend with the trials of hyper-competitive incentive structures, a workaholic academic culture, and larger-than-life egos that often hide the vulnerability we feel as mere mortals tasked with tremendous feats.Now is an opportune time to revisit these origin stories of our field.Given the magnitude of the problems facing us today, there is an urgent need for larger and larger scientific communities to function healthfully.Anyone who has felt in their gut the awe and humility of discovery understands that we are not entitled to learn the secrets of the Universe, we labor to gain even the smallest insight.Individually, we will be wrong far more often than we will be right.In this tale, what began as a scientific debate between friends devolved into a bitter argument, creating a chasm in the scientific community that persisted for decades and arguably stalled the progress that Fisher's paper later spurred.In a sense, this story can be viewed as a "morality tale" about the dangers of competitiveness, the responsibility of influential voices, and the importance of maintaining a profound sense of humility as a scientist.The following centers the very elements that complicate healthy team science-friendship, ego, and ambition, and illustrates
Source: PLoS Genetics
Author: Lea K. Davis
Institutions: Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,655
OpenAlex ID: W4307442066