While one’s skills, experience, and knowledge are the factors that are directly associated with implications in scientific research, it is essential to mention the importance of personality when it comes to persevering in this particular field. Barbara McClintock, the Nobel Prize winner, possessed certain traits and characteristics that were not only helpful in achieving academic success but also facilitated a long and persistent journey towards recognition. McClintock’s discipline, dedication, and proclivity toward observations have assisted the scientist in her discoveries.
McClintock’s personality traits can easily be identified through the interview of one of her close friends and colleague, the biochemist Bruce Alberts. Alberts has mentioned that McClintock was extraordinarily observant and had the ability to spot little details in order for the whole picture to be precise.1 Moreover, the biochemist mentions the organization skills he has observed while interacting with his mentor. He also described her as fully dedicated to her craft and being emerged in the field of studies that she chose. This, indeed, led to Barbara McClintock’s acquiring the Nobel Prize, which directly implies that the personality traits mentioned prior have facilitated such positive results. The scientist has not been recognized until decades after being granted the Nobile Prize for discovering genetic elements.2 It was MccCintock’s perseverance, dedication, discipline, and years sacrificed in the name of science that has helped the scientist follow the path until the reward.
Barbara McClintock’s personality traits have assisted the professor in her pursuit of recognition in the scientific community. It is certain that the characteristics that she portrayed through her work have not only led to a successful career but also the discovery of a phenomenon that is still at the core of genetic studies. Moreover, McClintock’s personality traits have helped her achieve the status of a role model for many aspiring scientists aiming to be as dedicated to the craft as the professor herself.
Bibliography
Comfort, Nathaniel C. “The Real Point Is Control: The Reception of Barbara McClintock’s Controlling Elements.”Journal of the History of Biology 32 (1999): 133–62.
CSHL. “Bruce Alberts on Barbara McClintock.” CSHL. Oral History, 2008.
Footnotes
- CSHL, “Bruce Alberts on Barbara McClintock,” CSHL (Oral History, 2008),
- Nathaniel C Comfort, “The Real Point Is Control: The Reception of Barbara McClintock’s Controlling Elements,” Journal of the History of Biology 32 (1999): 133.