Working for people you admire 11 Nov 200818 Sep 2017 Right now on the Australian ABC network they are reshowing a program that was first shown in April this year on Professor Sir Gustav Nossal AO [and a three line slew of fruit salad of awards, qualifications, and honours]. The transcript is here, but it doesn’t do justice to the man himself. Gus, as he likes to be called, is one of the most remarkable people I have ever met, and the one who I count working for as a great honour, when I was the communications manager at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, where I worked while I did my PhD, for ten years (the PhD took six). He discovered monoclonal antibodies, while working to establish Burnet’s theory of clonal selection, and after retirement worked to deliver aboriginal reconciliation. More than any other “white” man, he was the one who was responsible for that. Gus has an amazing ability to remember every person he has ever met, their family’s names, and circumstances. When the wife of a security guard at the adjacent Royal Melbourne Hospital died, Gus was at the funeral. He was the only management member there. He was the only one who knew. He is one of the few people who I think is wholly admirable. The two years he was director while I was there, and the eight years after when I spent as much time doing work for him as I did when he hadn’t retired, were the best of my pre-academic life. Who do you admire who you worked for? General Science History
Creationism and Intelligent Design Noah’s Ark and the creation of the species rank 19 Jun 201719 Jun 2017 This is a section of my forthcoming revision to Species, presented here for comments that I can steal – umm, I mean for peer commentary. At this point in our narrative, we still do not have a uniquely biological notion of species, nor of a fixed rank in logic. As species concepts evolved,… Read More
Evolution The Shandyan dilemma 18 Jan 201219 Jan 2012 Reginald Hill, author of the Dalziel and Pascoe detective series among many others, has died. This is a partial post I started some time back, so I thought I’d post it as is. In Recalled to Life, Reginald Hill has one of his two protagonists, Pascoe, interview an ex-nanny who… Read More
Evolution Myth 3: Darwin was a Lamarckian 16 Feb 2009 Myth 3: Darwin was actually a Lamarckian This one is subtle. It implies that Darwin, because he lacked a Mendelian account of heredity, was not actually a “true” (or Neo-)Darwinian. The error depends on the extent of what is named as a school of thought in science and why. Read More
You already have a job, Jason. No need to brownnose 😉 I didn’t say Gus was the only guys I worked for that I admire.
You already have a job, Jason. No need to brownnose 😉 I didn’t say Gus was the only guys I worked for that I admire.
I’m lucky to currently work for someone I admire. He’s an ex-military police commander, and a better diplomat, or more compassionate human being, you will not find.
I never worked for him directly, but I nominate Richard Woolcott, now (though well into his 70s) reemerging as Rudd’s envoy to persuade the region to consider creating a new supra-regional organisation. He has amazing diplomatic skills, an ability to relate to almost anyone, and was widely respected and liked in the region. After retirement Woolcott became increasingly vocal (in his moderate and polite way) about the Howard government’s (mis)behaviour, its disregard of the rule of law and civil rights, and the damage it was doing to Australia’s international image.