In Memoriam - Barbara McClintock
Барбара МакКлинток (1902-1992, США) была выдающимся генетиком, сделала совершенно нечеловеческое количество открытий в своей научной области,в 1983 году была удостоена Нобелевской премии... Известно, однако, что у неё так и не было семьи и всю свою долгую жизнь она провела, фактически, в рабочем уединении... То есть, была своего рода "монахиней от науки". Что может казаться странным и в чём-то даже "неправильным"...
Но те люди, которые знали её достаточно (условно говоря) близко, говорили о её человеческих качествах, что, в частности, и представлено в нижеследующем тексте. Заранее извиняюсь за то, что выкладываю англоязычный оригинал, но в данном случае не рискую перевести его.
* * *
Barbara McClintock was a woman who rejected a woman's life for herself. She began to do it as a small child and never deviated. Her childhood was not a happy one, and perhaps this provided the force, the moral tension that was so strong in her and so necessary for the life she lived. And we must not forget that at the foundation of every creative life there lies a sense of personal inadequacy that energizes the struggle. This sense was strong in Barbara.
Barbara deliberately chose a solitary life without encumbrances, but she did not reject womanhood. In a feminine way, she once said to me "I cannot fight for myself, but I can fight for others." In a time of confusion about such matters, it is important to note that Barbara did not fight against herself by choosing a path that was inconsistent with her nature or her capacity. This is why she could, at the end, say "I have lived a wonderful life and I have no regrets about it." This does not mean that Barbara's life of isolation protected her from inner storms and passions. On the contrary, she was familiar with periods of depression, sense of futility and, yes, tears of frustration and rage. Yet her final judgment on her life was strongly affirmative.
Among her talents was the ability to dominate those rebellious tendencies in herself that were in conflict with what she desired herself to be. She had a Yogi-like ability to control pain. When she went to the dentist she assured him not to worry about inflicting pain because, by an effort of mind, she would not feel any. This piece of information may have raised the dentist’s eyebrows, but the result was as she predicted.
There are some for whom life is mainly serious and there are others for whom life is mainly laughter. Awful are those lives that are all one or all the other. Barbara took life mainly as serious, but she appreciated good laughs and we had many together. These were sometimes provoked by gentle teasing on my part. I enjoyed teasing Barbara and I think she rather liked it, too. Perhaps it was a kind of man-woman interaction. I did much of the teasing during the period of her public martyrdom.
I can say that knowing Barbara has been one of the great experiences of my life and the fact that she is gone makes me think of an extinct species or a miraculous creation that will never again be seen in the world. There are scientists whose discoveries greatly transcend their personalities and their humanity. But those in the future who will know of Barbara only her discoveries will know only her shadow. If she had made no important discoveries, I would feel about her almost as I do now. Those of us who knew her will preserve their memory of her uniqueness and marvel at what genes and experience gave to her alone.
In Memoriam - Barbara McClintock
by Howard Green
12 June 1999
Но те люди, которые знали её достаточно (условно говоря) близко, говорили о её человеческих качествах, что, в частности, и представлено в нижеследующем тексте. Заранее извиняюсь за то, что выкладываю англоязычный оригинал, но в данном случае не рискую перевести его.
* * *
Barbara McClintock was a woman who rejected a woman's life for herself. She began to do it as a small child and never deviated. Her childhood was not a happy one, and perhaps this provided the force, the moral tension that was so strong in her and so necessary for the life she lived. And we must not forget that at the foundation of every creative life there lies a sense of personal inadequacy that energizes the struggle. This sense was strong in Barbara.
Barbara deliberately chose a solitary life without encumbrances, but she did not reject womanhood. In a feminine way, she once said to me "I cannot fight for myself, but I can fight for others." In a time of confusion about such matters, it is important to note that Barbara did not fight against herself by choosing a path that was inconsistent with her nature or her capacity. This is why she could, at the end, say "I have lived a wonderful life and I have no regrets about it." This does not mean that Barbara's life of isolation protected her from inner storms and passions. On the contrary, she was familiar with periods of depression, sense of futility and, yes, tears of frustration and rage. Yet her final judgment on her life was strongly affirmative.
Among her talents was the ability to dominate those rebellious tendencies in herself that were in conflict with what she desired herself to be. She had a Yogi-like ability to control pain. When she went to the dentist she assured him not to worry about inflicting pain because, by an effort of mind, she would not feel any. This piece of information may have raised the dentist’s eyebrows, but the result was as she predicted.
There are some for whom life is mainly serious and there are others for whom life is mainly laughter. Awful are those lives that are all one or all the other. Barbara took life mainly as serious, but she appreciated good laughs and we had many together. These were sometimes provoked by gentle teasing on my part. I enjoyed teasing Barbara and I think she rather liked it, too. Perhaps it was a kind of man-woman interaction. I did much of the teasing during the period of her public martyrdom.
I can say that knowing Barbara has been one of the great experiences of my life and the fact that she is gone makes me think of an extinct species or a miraculous creation that will never again be seen in the world. There are scientists whose discoveries greatly transcend their personalities and their humanity. But those in the future who will know of Barbara only her discoveries will know only her shadow. If she had made no important discoveries, I would feel about her almost as I do now. Those of us who knew her will preserve their memory of her uniqueness and marvel at what genes and experience gave to her alone.
In Memoriam - Barbara McClintock
by Howard Green
12 June 1999