DNA was my only gold rush. I regarded DNA as worth a gold rush.
— James D. Watson
I’ve had strong opinions probably since I was born. It makes you unpopular, but what can you do?
— James D. Watson
I have never seen Francis Crick in a modest mood. Perhaps in other company he is that way, but I have never had reason so to judge him.
— James D. Watson
Here at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, we have genetically rearranged various viruses and bacteria as part of our medical research. In fact, we have been able to create entirely new types of DNA molecules by splicing together the genetic information from different organisms – recombinant DNA.
— James D. Watson
Our goal should be to understand our differences.
— James D. Watson
I wanted to see if I could write a good book.
— James D. Watson
Spotting a rare bird is never worth the bite of a cur. Once bitten by a German shepherd, I knew that I preferred cats, even if they are bird-killers. Life is long enough for more than one chance at a rare bird.
— James D. Watson
Ever since we achieved a breakthrough in the area of recombinant DNA in 1973, left-wing nuts and environmental kooks have been screaming that we will create some kind of Frankenstein bug or Andromeda Strain that will destroy us all.
— James D. Watson
If you accept that people are the products of evolution, then you have to have an open mind to the truth. Unfair discrimination exists whether we like it or not; I wouldn’t have married a gum-chewing vegetarian.
— James D. Watson
You move forward through knowledge. You prevail through knowledge. I love the word ‘prevail.’ Prevail!
— James D. Watson
I have a son, who is a… not an ordinary form of schizophrenia, but clearly, cannot take care of himself. And the great fear of then, of all parents, is, when the parents die, who takes care of your child? And the answer is: they become homeless.
— James D. Watson
My whole life has been basically trying to find intelligent students or, you know, highly motivated students and giving them an opportunity to do good science.
— James D. Watson
One could not be a successful scientist without realizing that, in contrast to the popular conception supported by newspapers and mothers of scientists, a goodly number of scientists are not only narrow-minded and dull, but also just stupid.
— James D. Watson
Take young researchers, put them together in virtual seclusion, give them an unprecedented degree of freedom and turn up the pressure by fostering competitiveness.
— James D. Watson
Ultimately, we’ll help the people we discriminate against if we try to understand more about them; genetics will lead to a world where there is a sympathy for the underdog.
— James D. Watson
I first became aware of Charles Darwin and evolution while still a schoolboy growing up in Chicago. My father and I had a passion for bird-watching, and when the snow or the rain kept me indoors, I read his bird books and learned about evolution.
— James D. Watson
We should govern our actions by assuming that people are more good than bad. Whereas, most of our social policies dictate that people are more bad than good. That you know if you do something, it’ll be seized by the rich to exploit the poor.
— James D. Watson
To all those who have drawn the inference from my words that Africa, as a continent, is somehow genetically inferior, I can only apologize unreservedly.
— James D. Watson
One-third of all female infertility is the result of blocked fallopian tubes. If fertilization could be done in the lab and then the fertilized egg implanted in the womb, it would get around that problem. Millions of women who cannot have children would suddenly be able to.
— James D. Watson
Some think there is something wrong about enhancing people.
— James D. Watson
It’s necessary to be slightly underemployed if you are to do something significant.
— James D. Watson
Science has always been my preoccupation and when you think a breakthrough is possible, it is terribly exciting.
— James D. Watson
