TED Talk Homework

This video offers a first-hand account of the discovery of the structure of DNA - in a very honest approach. After reading about James Watson in high school and teaching about him in my own classroom, it was wonderful to get a sense of his personality. Watson tends to face harsh criticism from some in the scientific community, but I actually find his frankness refreshing. Even at his age, he was able to keep the attention of the crowd and include humor and enthusiasm to make the talk enjoyable. To me he is a humble person, acknowledging that he was not the "brightest in the room".Even though his ideas were dismissed time and time again, he persisted and ultimately succeeded. I hadn't really heard much about him since the Human Genome Project was completed in 1994. I was surprised to find he is currently researching how genes are responsible for major diseases. I admire his passion and am pleased to learn that he is still involved with genetics. I will definitely show part of this video to my kids!