RESPONDING TO HARRY KROTO’S BRILLIANT RENOWNED ACADEMICS!! ( PAUSING TO LOOK AT THE LIFE OF LEWIS WOLPERT WHO I HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO CORRESPOND) Part 175 RESPONSE FROM DR WOLPERT ON 6-23-14 to my previous LETTER!!!

On November 21, 2014 I received a letter from Nobel Laureate Harry Kroto and it said:

…Please click on this URL http://vimeo.com/26991975

and you will hear what far smarter people than I have to say on this matter. I agree with them.

Harry Kroto

Nick Gathergood, David-Birkett, Harry-Kroto

I have attempted to respond to all of Dr. Kroto’s friends arguments and I have posted my responses one per week for over a year now. Here are some of my earlier posts:

Arif Ahmed, Sir David Attenborough, Mark Balaguer, Horace Barlow, Michael Bate, Patricia Churchland, Aaron Ciechanover, Noam Chomsky,Alan Dershowitz, Hubert Dreyfus, Bart Ehrman, Stephan Feuchtwang, David Friend,  Riccardo Giacconi, Ivar Giaever , Roy Glauber, Rebecca Goldstein, David J. Gross,  Brian Greene, Susan Greenfield, Stephen F Gudeman,  Alan Guth, Jonathan Haidt, Theodor W. Hänsch, Brian Harrison,  Hermann Hauser, Roald Hoffmann,  Bruce Hood, Herbert Huppert,  Gareth Stedman Jones, Steve Jones, Shelly Kagan, Michio Kaku,  Stuart Kauffman,  Lawrence Krauss, Harry Kroto, George Lakoff, Elizabeth Loftus,  Alan Macfarlane, Peter Millican, Marvin Minsky, Leonard Mlodinow,  Yujin Nagasawa, Alva Noe, Douglas Osheroff,  Jonathan Parry,  Saul Perlmutter, Herman Philipse,  Carolyn Porco, Robert M. Price, Lisa Randall, Lord Martin Rees,  Oliver Sacks, John Searle, Marcus du Sautoy, Simon Schaffer, J. L. Schellenberg,   Lee Silver,  Peter Singer,  Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, Ronald de Sousa, Victor Stenger, Barry Supple,   Leonard Susskind, Raymond Tallis, Neil deGrasse Tyson,  .Alexander Vilenkin, Sir John Walker, Frank Wilczek, Steven Weinberg, and  Lewis Wolpert,

In  the second video below in the 64th clip in this series are his words and  my response is below them. 

50 Renowned Academics Speaking About God (Part 1)

Another 50 Renowned Academics Speaking About God (Part 2)

A Further 50 Renowned Academics Speaking About God (Part 3)

_________________________________

Lewis Wolpert Quote:

I am not against people being religious. I think it helps you a great deal. I am against religion when it interferes in the lives of other people…If you believe for example that the fertilized egg is really a human being which some people in your religious organizations believe then I am very hostile to you because it is nonsense and this is one of my subjects developmental biology or if you are against contraception for religious reason  then therefore AIDS can become more common. So I am not against people having a belief in God. I do believe that believe is false. Whatever arguments I  give you I have no delusion that I will persuade you to change your minds.

From 6-23-14 profwolpert@yahoo.com “Lewy Wolpert”

Many thanks for sending me that interesting material. However it does not provide any evidence for God , though some may think it does.
Kind regards    Lewis

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emailed in response to his email on 6-25-14

Dear Dr. Wolpert,

In the question and answer time after the debate with William Lane Craig, you noted concerning the starting of the universe:

There is nothing to be ashamed about admitting ignorance. I don’t understand the big bang. I have discussed it with people, and there are things we don’t understand, and we just have to say we don’t know.

I find that very refreshing that you don’t just jump in there and take all of the scientists’ speculations as set in stone. Many times my own Christian friends will be critical of me when I say I don’t know how old the world is. WHY DO PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE TO KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS?

Let me say how I appreciate you taking time out of your busy day and getting back to me. I was very honored to get a response from you. By the way I have always been an avid watcher of the Charlie Rose Show over here in the USA and I noticed last year an episode on the brain and it featured your son Daniel. I also have been a big fan of your son Matt’s comedy and especially the Ralphie series on You Tube.

I have often thought of you as the universal man and the fact that you have a son that has excelled at learning and one that is an expert in the area of comedy brings me back to the 8th grade when Adrian Rogers our chapel speaker talked about Solomon’s  search for the meaning in life “under the sun” (without God in the picture), and the 5 “L” words that Solomon looked at first. Laughter and Learning were two of those words. Ecclesiastes 1:16-17 states: I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.

In Ecclesiastes 2:2 he starts this quest with the subject of laughter but he concludes it is not productive to be laughing the whole time and not considering the serious issues of life. (The ironic thing is that my son Hunter is trying his hand at stand up comedy too.) Then Solomon also asserted the nihilistic statement in Ecclesiastes 2:17: “So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

In the Book of Ecclesiastes what are all of the 5 “L” words that Solomon looked into? He looked into  learning (1:16-18), laughter, ladies, luxuries,  and liquor (2:1-3, 8, 10, 11), and labor (2:4-6, 18-20).  Your good friend H. J. Blackham has actually said, “On humanist assumptions, life leads to nothing, and every pretense that it does not is a deceit.” Here is a post I did on him at this link.

Is a optimistic humanism possible?

Here below is the song DUST IN THE WIND performed by the rock group KANSAS and was written by Kerry Ligren in 1978. I challenge anyone to  read these words of that song given below and refute the idea that accepting naturalistic evolution with the exclusion of God must lead to the nihilistic message of the song!

DUST IN THE WIND:

I close my eyes only for a moment, and the moment’s gone

All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity

Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind

Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea

All we do crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind

Now, don’t hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky

It slips away, and all your money won’t another minute buy

______________________

The answer to find meaning in life is found in putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible is true from cover to cover and can be trusted.

_______________________________________________________

Dr. Wolpert, you want some evidence that indicates that the Bible is true? Here is a good place to start and that is taking a closer look at the archaeology of the Old Testament times. Is the Bible historically accurate? Here are some of the posts I have done in the past on the subject: 1. The Babylonian Chronicle, of Nebuchadnezzars Siege of Jerusalem, 2. Hezekiah’s Siloam Tunnel Inscription. 3. Taylor Prism (Sennacherib Hexagonal Prism), 4. Biblical Cities Attested Archaeologically. 5. The Discovery of the Hittites, 6.Shishak Smiting His Captives, 7. Moabite Stone, 8. Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, 9A Verification of places in Gospel of John and Book of Acts., 9B Discovery of Ebla Tablets. 10. Cyrus Cylinder, 11. Puru “The lot of Yahali” 9th Century B.C.E., 12. The Uzziah Tablet Inscription, 13. The Pilate Inscription, 14. Caiaphas Ossuary, 14 B Pontius Pilate Part 2, 14c. Three greatest American Archaeologists moved to accept Bible’s accuracy through archaeology., 

It is obvious from your debates on You Tube that you are a delightful person with a very good heart. With that in mind I wanted to share a feel good story that happened to one of our customers back in September. Melvin Pickens is now 81 years old and he has been selling our brooms here from Little Rock Broom Works since 1950. The amazing thing is that Melvin is partially blind and he is a cancer survivor and he had a stroke a couple of years ago. However, with the help of a caregiver he still meets up with his customers and sells them our Airlight Broom. Steve Hartman of CBS News found out about it and did a story on him. Here is the clip from CBS and an article about Melvin too at this link:

https://thedailyhatch.org/2013/09/20/melvin-pickens-the-broom-man-of-little-rock-does-a-great-job-on-the-cbs-evening-news-interview-with-steve-hartman/

I got a good trivia question for you? I wondered why my friend Melvin had been a LA Dodger fan the last 30 years I knew  he had always lived in Arkansas and most fans around here are St. Louis, Atlanta or maybe Ranger fans. Why was Melvin a LA Dodger fan?   He told me that in 1947 when he was at Henry Clay Yerger High School in Hope, Arkansas, Branch Rickey (the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers) stood up for Jackie Robinson and made him the first black baseball player to play professional baseball with the whites. Every person he knew at Henry Clay Yerger High School became a Dodger fan that year, and he has been a faithful fan ever since!!! I found that out back when the movie “42” came out about Jackie Robinson and when I saw the movie I knew how much Robinson had impacted one of my good friends.

Thanks again for taking time to respond.

Everette Hatcher, cell ph 501-920-5733, everettehatcher@gmail.com

MelvinPickens pictured below:

_____________

_____

http://talkbusiness.net/2013/09/arkansas-broom-man-makes-national-news/Tolbert: Arkansas ‘Broom Man’ Makes National News

______________

ON THE JOB: Melvin Pickens strolls Kavanaugh in a 2011 photo.

  • Brian Chilson
  • ON THE JOB: Melvin Pickens strolls Kavanaugh in a 2011 photo

________

  • Lewis Wolpert (1929–2021)

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdev.2021.203673
    Under an Elsevier user license
    open archive

    Abstract

    Lewis Wolpert was a brilliant and inspiring scientist who made hugely significant contributions which underpin and influence our understanding of developmental biology today. He spent his career interested in how the fertilised egg can give rise to the whole embryo (and ultimately the adult) with one head, two arms, two legs, all its organs and importantly how cells become different from each other and how they ‘know’ what to become. His ideas revolutionised the way developmental biology was perceived and also reinvigorated, in particular, the key question of how pattern formation in embryonic development is achieved. He published over 200 scientific articles and received many accolades over his career for his work and services to science in the UK. These included a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) from the Queen, being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was also a recipient of the Waddington Medal from the British Society for Developmental Biology and was awarded The Royal Society’s top honour, the Royal Medal in 2018. Lewis was also a gifted teacher and communicator, including being the author of a textbook on developmental biology used around the world to train the next generation of developmental biologists. This contribution was recognised in 2003, by the award of the Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Award from the Society of Developmental Biology in the USA. Lewis always enjoyed giving talks and lectures, having an infectious and persuasive enthusiasm coupled with a sharp sense of humour. He also published articles in popular science journals (aimed at the public) such as New Scientist, Scientific American and The Scientist. Lewis also wrote several popular science books. He was a passionate advocate for the public understanding of science and was the Chair of The Royal Society/Royal Institution/British Association for the Advancement of Science Committee for Public Understanding of Science (1994–1998). For this contribution he was awarded The Royal Society Michael Faraday Medal for “excellence in communicating science to UK audiences”. He presented the prestigious Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1986 entitled ‘Frankenstein’s Quest: development of life’. These lectures, six in total, are presented by leading scientists and aimed at the general public and broadcast on national television. On a personal level, Lewis influenced all who came into contact with him, shaped his students and postdocs careers and instilled in them, and the community as whole, a life-long love of developmental biology.

    Keywords

    Positional Information
    French flag problem
    Progress zone
    Chick limb
    Hydra
    Sea urchin

    1. His early career

    Lewis was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1929. As a young man he studied civil engineering as he wanted to do science of some sort, but he was unsure at the time. He also got involved with politics even meeting and helping Nelson Mandela in the early 1950s. He came to the UK in 1954 and studied soil mechanics at Imperial College London before realising his calling was cell and developmental biology. He carried out his PhD at Kings College London with Dr. James Danielli, a biophysicist, and studied the mechanics of cell division and measured the mechanical forces used in cell division in sea urchin embryos (Wolpert, 1960; Wolpert, 1966). To continue his research on sea urchin embryos he would travel to Sweden most Summers in order to have access to the embryos and published widely on their development (Gustafson and Wolpert, 1963; Gustafson and Wolpert, 1967). In 1966 he took up the position of Chair of Biology as Applied to Medicine at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School (now part of University College London) and initially studied regeneration in the freshwater invertebrate Hydra(Wolpert et al., 1971). He was also interested in the basis of polarity of the Hydra, that is, how does the Hydra know its head from its tail (Hicklin et al., 1969) (also see Section 2). He soon moved into the developing chick limb as a model system to study development, because he felt the developing limb was more appropriate at a Medical School (Wolpert, 2015).

    2. His scientific contributions and the concept of Positional Information

    Wolperts studies on early development of the sea urchin contributed to him coining the famous quote ‘it is not birth, marriage or death, but gastrulation which is truly the most important time of your life’ celebrating the essential and wondrous event that occurs in all early vertebrate embryos that converts a mass of cells into germ layers that gives rise to all the organs and tissues of the body. Wolpert is equally famous for his concept of Positional Information also known as the French Flag problem (Wolpert, 1968; Wolpert, 1969).

    Wolpert chose Hydra to work on originally because it regenerates and regulates following tissue loss, so enabled him to investigate the specification of the spatial organisation of an embryo in a simple organism. Lewis, admittedly, was not very practical in the lab, he was a theoretician, and he worked with his technician Amata Hornbruch for a large part of his career and who was ‘his hands’ in the lab (Wolpert, 2018). Lewis also hired gifted and talented students and postdocs who carried out experiments and creatively discussed/debated his ideas (for a list of Wolpert Lab Staff, see Vargesson, 2020). In the Hydrahe demonstrated that the head was formed by the creation of a diffusible inhibitory gradient, that prevented the head forming in the incorrect place (Hicklin et al., 1969; Webster and Wolpert, 1966; Wolpert et al., 1971). He also showed that a second gradient was present to determine where the head would form (Wolpert et al., 1971). Wolpert was also influenced by work from Hans Driesch, who separated the two-cell stage sea urchin embryo into single cells and found each made complete embryos but were half the normal size, and which indicated the cells had an idea of position and spatial awareness (Driesch, 1908). Together, his work on Hydra and the work by Driesch provided the basis for his concept of Positional Information by devising the “French Flag Problem” (Wolpert, 1968). This is where Wolpert realised that the embryo was behaving like a flag, where the pattern remains the same irrespective of the size of the embryo. The “problem” was how does a line of cells, then create three different colours or patterns to produce the French flag? (Wolpert, 1968). He proposed that a concentration gradient of a signalling molecule or morphogen, or through cells counting cell divisions, could provide Positional Information so that cells acquire different positional values depending on their position (Wolpert, 1969). Cells then interpret their positional values according to their developmental history and behave appropriately to produce specific cell types and patterns (Wolpert, 1969). He proposed this model was universal and could be applied to practically all multicellular organisms, for example, Positional Information could account for the patterns being the same for ‘flags’ (tissues/embryos) of different sizes (Wolpert, 1969) (for further detail on the origins of the Positional Information concept please see Vargesson, 2020).

    This incredibly simple concept explained how a group of homogenous cells in a tissue can all become different from another and produce different patterns. When Wolpert first proposed the concept of Positional Information to explain pattern formation, it was controversial and was disliked by many of his peers. However, support from Sydney Brenner and Francis Crick encouraged him to publish and it changed and inspired the field (Wolpert, 2015; Wolpert, 2018). In 2019, his concept celebrated its 50th anniversary since publication and continues to be highly cited, remains a central concept in all the major developmental biology textbooks, created a framework for understanding embryonic development and has influenced multiple generations of students and scientists, which include me, to become developmental biologists (Vargesson, 2020).

    2.1. The concept of Positional Information and chick limb development

    Wolpert also proposed that Positional Information acts ‘universally’, that is, it acts in multiple developmental systems including early embryonic development of sea urchins, amphibians, Hydra, insects, regenerating salamander limbs and the early chick limb (Wolpert, 1969). Around this time, he was influenced by the experimental embryologist, John Saunders jr, who had discovered the Zone of Polarising Activity in the chick limb and its ability to duplicate digits, as well as demonstrated the role of the Apical Ectodermal Ridge was to control limb outgrowth in a proximal to distal manner (ie: the humerus forms first, then the radius/ulna and finally the digits) (Saunders, 1948; Saunders and Gasseling, 1968; Tickle, 2017). Wolpert realised from Saunders work that he could study his concept of Positional Information in the chick limb and he and his talented students and postdocs then set about using the developing chick limb as a primary model. The list of people who went through his lab is an amazing legacy and many of whom are leaders in their fields today, underlining the influence he still has on the field, for example some of the students he supervised included Jim Smith, Dennis Summerbell, Nigel Holder, Michael K. Richardson and some of his postdocs included Cheryll Tickle, Jonathan Slack, Julian Lewis, Philippa Frances-West. For a detailed overview of the Wolpert Lab Family Tree, please see Vargesson (2020).

    Wolpert proposed that in the developing limb Positional Information was specified with respect to a three dimensional coordinate system. Cells needed to be informed of their position in relation to the three main axes of the limb. This was a radically different way of thinking about limb development. He proposed two models. One, the morphogen gradient model, where positional values across the antero-posterior axis (thumb to little finger) were specified by a gradient of a long-range signalling molecule produced by the zone of polarising activity in the posterior-distal margin of the limb bud (Tickle et al., 1975). Today we now know that molecule is Sonic Hedgehog (Tabin and Wolpert, 2007). In contrast, he proposed another model, the Progress Zone model to explain how positional values along the proximo-distal axis of the limb are specified by a timing mechanism that operates in a Progress Zone model. The Progress Zone is a region of undifferentiated mesoderm cells beneath the apical ectodermal ridge, the thickened rim of ectoderm required for limb bud outgrowth. Depending on how long cells remain in the Progress Zone determines their positional value. Cells that fall out early, become proximal limb elements, whereas cells that remain in the Progress Zone the longest ended up as the digits (Summerbell et al., 1973). His group also showed that when early limbs were X-irradiated this resulted in thalidomide-like phocomelia – the loss of proximal long bones (Wolpert et al., 1975). This could be interpreted in terms of the Progress Zone model as the irradiation kills cells and because the remaining cells stayed in the Progress Zone for longer in order to repopulate the Progress Zone, distal structures develop, at the expense of proximal ones.

    Both these models stimulated research in the field as well as many challenges and Lewis always enjoyed debates and controversies with other scientists, but his ideas moved the field forward.

    Wolpert was also interested in understanding the basis of ‘handedness’ or left-right asymmetry and establishment of symmetry. Using the chicken embryo he proposed that a molecule displaying asymmetric expression could explain left-right asymmetry differences in embryos; a question still at the forefront of developmental biology today (Brown and Wolpert, 1990; Wolpert, 2010).

    In the 1990s, the Wolpert Lab had several students and postdocs looking for molecular cues that underpin Positional Information (Fig. 1). It was an exciting time as molecular biology and genetic misexpression strategies were taking over science, although still primitive compared to today. In addition, the Wolpert lab adjoined the group of Cheryll Tickle, which altogether made for a stimulating, supportive and productive environment. (for a detailed overview of the Wolpert Lab Family Tree, see Vargesson, 2020).

    Fig. 1

    1. Download : Download high-res image (972KB)
    2. Download : Download full-size image

    Fig. 1. Lewis at a party celebrating the achievements of his and Cheryll Tickle’s labs at the Windeyer Building, Middlesex Hospital Medical School (UCL) before moving labs to the Medawar Building on Gower Street (UCL) in June 1996.

    Some of the work that was ongoing on in the Wolpert Lab when I joined his lab as a PhD student in 1994 included using a reaggregated limb mesenchyme model (where limb mesenchyme is dissociated into single cells and placed in an ectodermal jacket) and found different parts of the limb mesenchyme can reaggregate to make different digits, using a different combination of signalling molecules (Hardy et al., 1995); Investigating the role of Bmp2 and Bmp4 in skeletal development (Duprez et al., 1996); Studying feather patterning, specifically as they are formed in periodic patterns, and how they do this was unknown. Work in the lab proposed early globally distributed signals specifying the field (including Shh, Fgf-4) and then localised inhibitors, Bmp2 and Bmp4, triggering feather bud position (Jung et al., 1998). My PhD studies focused on cell fate and their relationship to gene expression patterns. I produced detailed (hand-drawn) fatemaps after labelling limb mesenchyme cells with the fluorescent dye, DiI, and in collaboration with Cheryll Tickle and Jonathan Clarke, showed how cell behaviour and movement follows the changes in expression patterns of genes during limb development (Vargesson et al., 1997). Taken altogether, these studies helped begin, along with other labs work, to shed light on the molecular signalling pathways underlying limb and embryonic development. While the molecular basis of Positional Information and determination of positional value in the developing chick limb is still not clear, there is some evidence for such a signal in the regenerating salamander limb, where a gradient of a signal called Prod1 provides Positional Information (Kumar et al., 2007; Wolpert, 2015; Wolpert, 2018).

    Today, the focus is on interactions between the antero-posterior and proximo-distal axes of the limb rather than a co-ordinate system. Several other models have been proposed to explain antero-posterior and proximo-distal patterning including the Turing reaction-diffusion model which has been shown to play a role in digit specification and which could interact with a graded signal to determine digit specific identities (Delgado and Torres, 2016; Delgado and Torres, 2016; Kumar et al., 2007; McQueen and Towers, 2020). Yet a timing mechanism and Positional Information remains involved in the process and it is now likely that reaction-diffusion, timing and graded signalling are all involved in limb patterning and outgrowth (Cooper et al., 2011; Delgado et al., 2020; Delgado and Torres, 2016; Grall and Tschopp, 2020; Green and Sharpe, 2015; Onimaru et al., 2016; Pickering and Towers, 2016; Rosello-Diez et al., 2011, Rosello-Diez et al., 2014; Saiz-Lopez et al., 2015; Sharpe, 2019; Tabin and Wolpert, 2007; McQueen and Towers, 2020).

    2.2. Retirement and awards

    Even after retirement and into his late 70s Lewis was still thinking, writing, publishing and discussing Positional Information (Kerszberg and Wolpert, 2007) (Fig. 2). Indeed, in an interview in 2015 for the journal ‘Development’, he also stated ‘if I still had an active lab, finding the molecular basis for Positional Information would be my objective’ (Vicente, 2015), underlining his continued search for answers. He also joined in other scientists lab meetings, specifically the lab of Claudio Stern at University College London, and discussed science with the same twinkle in his eye and excitement for finding out new information, including, publishing a paper on a topic close to his heart (and which started off his science career), gastrulation (Voiculescu et al., 2007).

    Fig. 2

    1. Download : Download high-res image (736KB)
    2. Download : Download full-size image

    Fig. 2. Lewis Wolpert enjoying a discussion with colleagues at the 2008 International Limb Development and Regeneration Conference in Madrid, Spain.

    For his life long service and impact on developmental biology Lewis Wolpert won the British Society for Developmental Biology Waddington Medal in 2015 (Waddington Medal Lecture, 2015). He mentioned how proud he was to have been awarded the medal, not least because he knew Conrad Waddington, the great developmental biologist after whom the medal is named after. Something he was more proud of however, and which underlines the huge legacy he leaves behind and his generosity of spirit, was that several of his former students and postdocs had won the Waddington Medal before he did. He was very pleased about this and mentioned the wonderful and stimulating environment and rewarding discussions he always had with his students and postdocs. His achievements are underlined with the award of The Royal Society Royal Medal in 2018, the highest honour of The Royal Society, for his research on morphogenesis and pattern formation.

    3. His books and other contributions

    Lewis was also a talented writer and communicator and had the remarkable ability to explain complex concepts in simple, logical and clear ways. His textbook ‘Principles of Development’ was first published in 1998 and is now into its 6th edition (Wolpert et al., 2019). He persuaded many talented developmental biologists to help him write this text book, which has become one of the premier books for undergraduate students. He wrote several popular science books for the public. Perhaps the best known are ‘The Triumph of the Embryo’ (Wolpert, 1991) describing in laymans terms how a fertilised cell becomes a fully formed organism; his book ‘The Unnatural Nature of Science’ where he reviews the history of science and elegantly explains why science is counter-intuitive and hard work (Wolpert, 1992) and ‘Malignant Sadness’ where from his personal experience of depression, he writes lucidly and clearly about his own battle with depression (Wolpert, 1999). He also wrote popular science books about belief and religion and publically debated his views on science and religion (Wolpert, 2006). He was an atheist and was for a long time a vice-president of The British Humanist Association (now Humanists UK). I recall when he gave an invited lecture in Aberdeen in 2008, he was asked why he was an atheist, he said ‘when I was a youth growing up in South Africa I played a lot of cricket. One day while playing in a match I couldn’t find the ball, I asked God for help to find the ball. I never found the ball and this led me to atheism’. However, he also stated that religion does benefit some people.

    4. His personality and my personal experience as a PhD student of Lewis

    I joined Lewis Wolpert’s lab in October 1994, and left the lab in April 1998, not long before he retired and took up emeritus status (though he never did confirm if it was my performance in the lab that contributed to his decision to retire). Everyone who spoke with or worked with Lewis has their own stories and memories of him. Amongst my favourite memories are when I first met him at my PhD interview. I was an undergraduate student and had been influenced by his 1978 Scientific American article on Positional Information and his ‘The Triumph of the Embryo’ book that I had read during my studies at Kings College London. My PhD interview was in his huge office in the Windeyer Building, part of the Middlesex Hospital Medical School. He arrived late, and brought his bike into his office, much to the upset of his secretary (Maureen Maloney). He smiled at me, removed his bicycle helmet and took a seat at his beautiful desk, surrounded by an amazing library of books and pictures and he asked me ‘how do you make an elbow?’. I came up with an answer, which I thought was good (I had done my homework or so I thought) and he simply said ‘no that’s wrong, my dear boy’ and we then had a wonderful discussion on how he thought the elbow formed. He then called the MRC and asked them to give me a PhD studentship. Years later I looked back on this conversation as one of the reasons for my long-standing interest in understanding thalidomide embryopathy, as an elbow joint forms in many survivors at the expense of many of the other bones. I shall always fondly remember that twinkle in his eye and his questioning excitement when discussing data, limb development, Positional Information, and our latest research findings.

    Lewis was an inspirational supervisor. Always full of advice. One of the lessons Lewis taught me (and others) was to never be afraid of asking questions. He often said ‘always ask questions, there is no such thing as a silly question, because if you have a question someone else will as well’. This was demonstrated sometimes at lab meetings and seminars where he might nod off but he would almost always ask an amazing question at the end. Or, if he didn’t understand or thought the speaker was being highly detailed, would look around and find a PhD student and ask ‘do you understand what is being said?’. Of course the PhD student would think ‘..i thought I did, but if Lewis doesn’t, perhaps I don’t’… Lewis would then raise his hand and politely mention ‘this dear child behind me doesn’t understand’. Lewis always encouraged people to think and to question and to not be afraid of saying ‘I don’t understand’.

    Lewis while focused on the principles and the ‘big picture’ of the questions being addressed (Vicente, 2015) would remind his staff and students to always consider this in their experiments or to re-inspire them, if their experiments were not going well. For example, I recall one time when he was giving a Talk at a Scientific Meeting, he asked some starry-eyed students who were all gripped by his ideas and advice ‘…to close your eyes, stretch your arms out in front of you, close your hands together and then bring your hands up to your face’. He asked them ‘to open their eyes’ and asked ‘what do you see?’ Of course, he remarked, ‘you see your arms are precisely the same length’. ‘Isn’t that amazing. Explain it to me’.

    Lewis was also a very supportive and generous supervisor allowing staff freedom to develop, to think independently and follow their own ideas and took no credit on some publications that came from his lab that were devised and carried out by his students and postdocs (for example, Summerbell and Lewis (Summerbell and Lewis, 1975), Smith (Smith, 1980), Tickle (Tickle, 1981), Akita (Akita, 1996), Akita et al. (Akita et al., 1996)). Equally, Lewis remained supportive of his students and staff throughout their careers and was always available to glean advice.

    Lewis also cared about staff. He always took time to enquire if staff and students were happy, and if they weren’t he spent time with them, offered them parental-like advice and/or told them an anecdote to make them smile, or tried to take their mind off things by talking, for example, about his interest in bicycles and playing tennis. One such occasion I shall never forget was when there was an incredibly sad occasion in 1995 when a PhD student from a different lab died suddenly. It affected many of the students and postdocs greatly. On the day we heard the news, Lewis came into the office, pulled up a chair and after sitting down asked how we were and spent a long time with us, checking we were okay, asking how we felt and discussing why we felt the way we do, and genuinely giving us a shoulder to cry on. This underpins what an extremely kind and caring person he was.

    5. Concluding remarks

    Lewis Wolperts remarkable and long career encompassed soil engineering, cell biology and gastrulation in sea urchins, regeneration in Hydra and chick limb development. His main passion was understanding how pattern is generated. His concept of Positional Information provided a new way of understanding how cells become different from one another, how they make the right tissues and in the right places, ideas that are still influencing the field today. He trained some of the leaders of the developmental biology field and inspired many others leaving a remarkable, important and sparkling scientific legacy which will continue to influence many more generations. He was also a kind and generous human being who is already deeply missed.

    Credit author statement

    NV wrote the article.

    Declaration of competing interest

    None.

    Acknowledgements

    I would like to thank Lewis for the opportunity to do my Ph.D in his group, for everything he did for me and for being a constant inspiration to me. With thanks to Cheryll Tickle for constructive comments and reading the manuscript. Thanks also to the many former students and postdocs of Lewis Wolpert as well as former staff from the lab of Cheryll Tickle, for sharing memories and thoughts of Lewis. These include Keiichi Akita, Helge Amthor, Esther Bell, Martin J. Cohn, Megan Davey, Litsa Drossopoulou, Delphine Duprez, Philippa Francis-West, Pantelis Georgiades, Adrian Hardy, Han-Sung Jung, John McLachlan, Imelda McGonnell, Ronald Nittenberg, Ketan Patel, Michael K. Richardson, Joy Richman, Katie Robertson, Juan Jose Sanz, Geoff Shellswell, Jim Smith, Cheryll Tickle, Matthew Towers, Astrid Vogel.

    References

Related posts:

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 53 THE BEATLES (Part E, Stg. Pepper’s and John Lennon’s search in 1967 for truth was through drugs, money, laughter, etc & similar to King Solomon’s, LOTS OF PICTURES OF JOHN AND CYNTHIA) (Feature on artist Yoko Ono)

April 2, 2015 – 7:05 am

The John Lennon and the Beatles really were on a long search for meaning and fulfillment in their lives  just like King Solomon did in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Solomon looked into learning (1:12-18, 2:12-17), laughter, ladies, luxuries, and liquor (2:1-2, 8, 10, 11), and labor (2:4-6, 18-20). He fount that without God in the picture all […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events, Francis Schaeffer | Edit | Comments (0)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 52 THE BEATLES (Part D, There is evidence that the Beatles may have been exposed to Francis Schaeffer!!!) (Feature on artist Anna Margaret Rose Freeman )

March 22, 2015 – 12:30 am

______________   George Harrison Swears & Insults Paul and Yoko Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds- The Beatles The Beatles:   I have dedicated several posts to this series on the Beatles and I don’t know when this series will end because Francis Schaeffer spent a lot of time listening to the Beatles and talking […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Tagged , , , , , | Edit| Comments (0)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 51 THE BEATLES (Part C, List of those on cover of Stg.Pepper’s ) (Feature on artist Raqib Shaw )

March 19, 2015 – 12:21 am

  The Beatles in a press conference after their Return from the USA Uploaded on Nov 29, 2010 The Beatles in a press conference after their Return from the USA. The Beatles:   I have dedicated several posts to this series on the Beatles and I don’t know when this series will end because Francis […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Tagged , , , , | Edit | Comments (0)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 50 THE BEATLES (Part B, The Psychedelic Music of the Beatles) (Feature on artist Peter Blake )

March 12, 2015 – 12:16 am

__________________   Beatles 1966 Last interview I have dedicated several posts to this series on the Beatles and I don’t know when this series will end because Francis Schaeffer spent a lot of time listening to the Beatles and talking and writing about them and their impact on the culture of the 1960’s. In this […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Tagged , , , , | Edit | Comments (1)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 49 THE BEATLES (Part A, The Meaning of Stg. Pepper’s Cover) (Feature on artist Mika Tajima)

March 5, 2015 – 4:47 am

_______________ The Beatles documentary || A Long and Winding Road || Episode 5 (This video discusses Stg. Pepper’s creation I have dedicated several posts to this series on the Beatles and I don’t know when this series will end because Francis Schaeffer spent a lot of time listening to the Beatles and talking and writing about […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Tagged , | Edit |Comments (0)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE PART 48 “BLOW UP” by Michelangelo Antonioni makes Philosophic Statement (Feature on artist Nancy Holt)

February 26, 2015 – 4:57 am

_______________ Francis Schaeffer pictured below: _____________________ I have included the 27 minute  episode THE AGE OF NONREASON by Francis Schaeffer. In that video Schaeffer noted,  ” Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band…for a time it became the rallying cry for young people throughout the world. It expressed the essence of their lives, thoughts and their feelings.” How Should […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Tagged , ,, , , | Edit | Comments (0)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 47 Woody Allen and Professor Levy and the death of “Optimistic Humanism” from the movie CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS Plus Charles Darwin’s comments too!!! (Feature on artist Rodney Graham)

February 19, 2015 – 5:33 am

Crimes and Misdemeanors: A Discussion: Part 1 ___________________________________ Today I will answer the simple question: IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE AN OPTIMISTIC SECULAR HUMANIST THAT DOES NOT BELIEVE IN GOD OR AN AFTERLIFE? This question has been around for a long time and you can go back to the 19th century and read this same […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Woody Allen | Tagged , , , | Edit | Comments (0)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE PART 46 Friedrich Nietzsche (Featured artist is Thomas Schütte)

February 12, 2015 – 5:00 am

____________________________________ Francis Schaeffer pictured below: __________ Francis Schaeffer has written extensively on art and culture spanning the last 2000years and here are some posts I have done on this subject before : Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 10 “Final Choices” , episode 9 “The Age of Personal Peace and Affluence”, episode 8 […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Tagged , ,, , , , , | Edit| Comments (0)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 45 Woody Allen “Reason is Dead” (Feature on artists Allora & Calzadilla )

February 5, 2015 – 4:31 am

Love and Death [Woody Allen] – What if there is no God? [PL] ___________ _______________ How Should We then Live Episode 7 small (Age of Nonreason) #02 How Should We Then Live? (Promo Clip) Dr. Francis Schaeffer 10 Worldview and Truth Two Minute Warning: How Then Should We Live?: Francis Schaeffer at 100 Francis Schaeffer […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer, Woody Allen | Tagged | Edit| Comments (0)

FRANCIS SCHAEFFER ANALYZES ART AND CULTURE Part 44 The Book of Genesis (Featured artist is Trey McCarley )

January 29, 2015 – 5:01 am

___________________________________ Francis Schaeffer pictured below: ____________________________ Francis Schaeffer “BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY” Whatever…HTTHR Dr. Francis schaeffer – The flow of Materialism(from Part 4 of Whatever happened to human race?) Dr. Francis Schaeffer – The Biblical flow of Truth & History (intro) Francis Schaeffer – The Biblical Flow of History & Truth (1) Dr. Francis Schaeffer […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Francis Schaeffer | Tagged | Edit | Comments (0)

__

By Everette Hatcher III, on March 5, 2024 at 2:55 am, under Atheists Confronted. No Comments
Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.