The U.S. in the Rebuilding of European Science

摘要

One day in 1946, the French biochemist Jacques Monod visited the laboratories at the marine biological station in Woods Hole. The visit made a strong impression on him, as he noted in a letter to his wife:rnVery big laboratories, huge library, three seminars a week, impressive organization, etc. The idea that 350 biologists are working here, that they accumulate observations; that they complete experiments, measurements, weightings; that they operate Warburg apparatus, centrifuges, and microtomes while piling up articles. All this has a somehow depressing effect on me. I am used to thinking that my work is something rare, highly personal, something I have almost invented. In my understanding, this is what makes it valuable. Here it is no longer possible to cherish such illusions. I feel the same way I felt on [Jones] Beach, when facing 50,000 cars and 500,000 bathers.