Matthew’s Bernal Prize Lecture on Francis Crick

The Royal Society has announced the winner of the 2024 Bernal Prize, which happens to be our own Matthew Cobb:

Scientists don’t often admit it to themselves, but most scientific discoveries are over-determined. If Watson or Crick had fallen under a bus in 1952, then Franklin, or Wilkins, or Pauling, or someone would soon have discovered the double helix in their place. Furthermore, as Crick put it in 2000, ‘Discoveries and inventions are more important than the people who make them.’ But sometimes the individual does matter. After the double helix was discovered, none of the clever people involved – not Watson, nor Franklin, nor Wilkins, nor Pauling – sought to draw out the deep implications of the structure. Only Crick did that, and his ideas, and the way he proceeded, influenced the course of discovery and the way we now think about genes and cells and evolution. Had Crick fallen under a bus in 1954, the course of science would have been different.

Having spent three intensive years immersed in writing a biography of Crick, Professor Cobb will use his life and work (not just the double helix!) to explore the role of individuals in scientific discovery and the importance of recent attempts to diversify the pool of scientists, something that is currently under attack.

About the award:

The Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal and Lecture 2024 is awarded to Professor Matthew Cobb for his work documenting the history of biology as both an author and broadcaster.

The Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Medal and Lecture is given for excellence in a subject relating to the history of science, philosophy of science or the social function of science. The Wilkins, Bernal and Medawar lectures were originally delivered as three separate lectures, each given triennially. Since 2007, they have been combined under the one title of the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Lecture. The medal is of bronze, is awarded annually and is accompanied by a gift of £2,000.

I was going to put this up earlier but forgot, and the lecture is just winding up. The good news is that it’s on YouTube and you can see the whole thing.  I’ll watch it this evening, but put your comments below.

There’s quite a lot about consciousness in here, too, as the lecture is supposed to incorporate philosophy, and there’s a 15-minute discussion/Q&A session at the end.

Congratulations to Matthew.