Scents and Sensibility:A Molecular Logic of Olfactory Perception (Nobel Lecture)

摘要

New York City is my world.I was born in Brooklyn,the first child of immigrant parents whose education was disrupted by the Nazi invasion of Poland.Although not themselves learned,my parents shared a deep respect for learning.I grew up in a home rich in warmth,but empty of books,art,and music.My early life and education were centered on the streets of Brooklyn.Stickball-baseball with a pink ball and broom handle-and schoolyard basketball were my culture.In stickball,a ball hit the distance to one manhole cover was a single,and four manhole covers,a home run,a "Nobel Prize".My father was a tailor.My mother,although quick and incisive,did not direct her mind to intellectual pursuits and I had not even the remotest thought of a career in academia.I was happy on the courts.In those days,we worked at a relatively young age.At eleven,I was a messenger,delivering false teeth to dentists.At twelve,I was laying carpets,and at thirteen,I was serving corned beef and pastrami in a local delicatessen.Vladimir,the Russian chef,was the first to expose me to Shakespeare,which he recited as we sliced cabbage heads for coleslaw.