Albert Rothenberg, M.D. first described or discovered a process he termed "homospatial thinking," which consists of actively conceiving two or more discrete entities occupying the same space, a conception leading to the articulation of new identities. Homospatial thinking has a salient role in the creative process in the following wide variety of fields: literature, the visual arts, music, science, and mathematics. This cognitive factor, along with "Janusian thinking," clarifies the nature of creative thinking as a highly adaptive and primarily nonregressive form of functioning.
He spoke of life in military metaphor: as a war with battles, retreats and campaigns.
--Leonard Shengold, Soul Murder: The Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation.
I could tell innumerable other stories, and they would all be true: all literally true.
There is a section of my book Significant Moments whose manifest content describes DNA and the discovery of its structure by Watson and Crick in 1953.
Superimposed are phrases from Barbara Tuchman's book The Zimmermann Telegram, which serves as a metaphor for the DNA molecule. The Zimmermann Telegram' (or Zimmermann Note) was a 1917 diplomatic proposal from the German Empire to Mexico to make war against the United States. The proposal was declined by Mexico, but angered Americans and led in part to a U.S. declaration of war in April.
The message came as a coded telegram dispatched by the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire, Arthur Zimmermann, on January 16, 1917, to the German ambassador in Washington, D.C., Johann von Bernstorff, at the height of World War I. The Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted and decoded by the British cryptographers of Room 40. The revelation of its contents in the American press on March 1 caused public outrage that contributed to the U.S.'s declaration of war against Germany and its allies on April 6.
The message came as a coded telegram dispatched by the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire, Arthur Zimmermann, on January 16, 1917, to the German ambassador in Washington, D.C., Johann von Bernstorff, at the height of World War I. The Zimmermann Telegram was intercepted and decoded by the British cryptographers of Room 40. The revelation of its contents in the American press on March 1 caused public outrage that contributed to the U.S.'s declaration of war against Germany and its allies on April 6.
The Zimmermann Telegram was written in code that had to be deciphered. Similarly, the DNA molecule is "written" in a kind of code, the structure of which was "deciphered" by Watson and Crick.
The metaphor is based on a quote in Significant Moments in the section about the life and personality of Friedrich Nietzsche.
--Leonard Shengold, Soul Murder: The Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation.
The following section of Significant Moments about DNA plays upon the Shengold quote; Shengold's use of the word "life" is expanded to refer to life in its broadest biological meaning. The DNA molecule is "life" in its most fundamental sense.
Larmarck was an 18th-century French soldier and biologist whose ideas anticipated those of Charles Darwin.
Homer's Odysseus was also a soldier.
(Personally, I love the fact that the structure of DNA was discovered in 1953, which happens to be the year I was born -- also the year my DNA was created.)
The following section of Significant Moments contains a number of quotes from Shakespeare's play, The Tempest. In the play, the character Prospero owned a "fair-sized private library" that was a source of great pleasure for him. Prospero is a polymath, a scholar with a magic book from an entire library that so absorbed him that it was, "dukedom large enough" (I, ii. l.110). In another part of the play Prospero says to his daughter, Miranda: "so, of his gentleness, Knowing I loved my books, he furnish'd me From mine own library with volumes that I prize above my dukedom."
It is interesting that in The Tempest Prospero is banished to a magical island. Later, in Significant Moments, I write about the French Army Captain, Alfred Dreyfus--a soldier--who was banished to Devil's Island as punishment for the crime of treason.
The following section of Significant Moments contains a number of quotes from Shakespeare's play, The Tempest. In the play, the character Prospero owned a "fair-sized private library" that was a source of great pleasure for him. Prospero is a polymath, a scholar with a magic book from an entire library that so absorbed him that it was, "dukedom large enough" (I, ii. l.110). In another part of the play Prospero says to his daughter, Miranda: "so, of his gentleness, Knowing I loved my books, he furnish'd me From mine own library with volumes that I prize above my dukedom."
It is interesting that in The Tempest Prospero is banished to a magical island. Later, in Significant Moments, I write about the French Army Captain, Alfred Dreyfus--a soldier--who was banished to Devil's Island as punishment for the crime of treason.
_______________________________________________
Primo Levi, The Periodic Table.
Nothing in this book has been invented.
Nothing in this book has been invented.
Barbara Tuchman, The Zimmermann Telegram.
Instead, I will tell just one more story, . . .
Instead, I will tell just one more story, . . .
Primo Levi, The Periodic Table.
. . . the most secret . . .
. . . the most secret . . .
Barbara W. Tuchman, The Zimmermann Telegram.
. . . and I will tell it with the humility and restraint of him who knows from the start that his theme is desperate, his means feeble, and the trade of clothing facts in words is bound by its very nature to fail.
. . . and I will tell it with the humility and restraint of him who knows from the start that his theme is desperate, his means feeble, and the trade of clothing facts in words is bound by its very nature to fail.
Primo Levi, The Periodic Table.
It seemed fair enough to assume, in Darwin's time, that . . .
It seemed fair enough to assume, in Darwin's time, that . . .
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
. . . every living creature . . .
. . . every living creature . . .
Genesis.
. . . was . . .
. . . was . . .
Richard Wilbur, Excerpt from Lamarck Elaborated.
. . . built up out of a relatively few building blocks that all species had in common. The completed organisms might be as infinitely various as the completed musical compositions that have been and can be written; but, like the latter, the infinite variety is built upon the arrangement and rearrangement of a relatively small number of notes.
. . . built up out of a relatively few building blocks that all species had in common. The completed organisms might be as infinitely various as the completed musical compositions that have been and can be written; but, like the latter, the infinite variety is built upon the arrangement and rearrangement of a relatively small number of notes.
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
The Greeks were . . .
The Greeks were . . .
Richard Wilbur, Excerpt from Lamarck Elaborated.
. . . the first . . .
. . . the first . . .
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
—did you know—
—did you know—
Guy de Maupassant, Fascination.
. . . who said . . .
. . . who said . . .
Richard Wilbur, Excerpt from Lamarck Elaborated.
. . . that all bodies are composed of indivisible and unchangeable atoms.
. . . that all bodies are composed of indivisible and unchangeable atoms.
Will Durant, The Life of Greece.
Chemically, all life is one.
Chemically, all life is one.
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
That life is chemistry is true but boring, like saying that football is physics. Life, to a rough approximation, consists of the chemistry of three atoms, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, which between them make up ninety-eight per cent of all atoms in living beings. But it is the emergent properties of life—such as heritability—not the constituent parts that are interesting.
That life is chemistry is true but boring, like saying that football is physics. Life, to a rough approximation, consists of the chemistry of three atoms, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen, which between them make up ninety-eight per cent of all atoms in living beings. But it is the emergent properties of life—such as heritability—not the constituent parts that are interesting.
Matt Ridley, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters.
"Once upon a time, very long ago, . . .
"Once upon a time, very long ago, . . .
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
. . . in the dark backward and abysm of time . . .
. . . in the dark backward and abysm of time . . .
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
. . . perhaps two and a half billion years ago, under a deadly sun, in an ammoniated ocean topped by a poisonous atmosphere, in the midst of a soup of organic molecules, a nucleic acid molecule came accidentally into being that could somehow bring about the existence of another like itself—"
. . . perhaps two and a half billion years ago, under a deadly sun, in an ammoniated ocean topped by a poisonous atmosphere, in the midst of a soup of organic molecules, a nucleic acid molecule came accidentally into being that could somehow bring about the existence of another like itself—"
And from that all else would follow!
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
That . . .
That . . .
Richard Wilbur, Excerpt from Lamarck Elaborated.
. . . impossible matter . . .
. . . impossible matter . . .
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
. . . bloomed in vibrant atmosphere, as music conjured Ileum from the ground . . .
. . . bloomed in vibrant atmosphere, as music conjured Ileum from the ground . . .
Richard Wilbur, Excerpt from Lamarck Elaborated.
. . . and . . .
. . . and . . .
Homer, The Odyssey.
. . . raised the wall, and houses too . . .
. . . raised the wall, and houses too . . .
Richard Wilbur, Excerpt from Lamarck Elaborated.
. . . permitting . . .
. . . permitting . . .
Charles Darwin, Origin of Species.
. . . the ordered life . . .
. . . the ordered life . . .
Toni Morrison, Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination.
. . . within . . .
. . . within . . .
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
. . . to exist in the larger world.
. . . to exist in the larger world.
Toni Morrison, Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination.
It is written: "In the beginning was the Word!"
It is written: "In the beginning was the Word!"
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust.
The word proselytized . . .
The word proselytized . . .
Matt Ridley, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters.
. . . the wild waters in . . .
. . . the wild waters in . . .
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
. . . the sea with its message, copying itself unceasingly and forever. The word discovered how to rearrange chemicals so as to create little eddies in the stream of entropy and make them live. The word transformed the land surface of the planet from a dusty hell to a verdant paradise. The word eventually blossomed and became sufficiently ingenious to build a porridgy contraption called a human brain that could discover and be aware of the word itself.
. . . the sea with its message, copying itself unceasingly and forever. The word discovered how to rearrange chemicals so as to create little eddies in the stream of entropy and make them live. The word transformed the land surface of the planet from a dusty hell to a verdant paradise. The word eventually blossomed and became sufficiently ingenious to build a porridgy contraption called a human brain that could discover and be aware of the word itself.
My porridgy contraption boggles every time I think this thought. In four thousand million years of earth history, I am lucky enough to be alive today. In five million species, I was fortunate enough to be born a conscious human being. Among six thousand million people on the planet, I was privileged enough to be born in the country where the word was discovered. In all of the earth's history, biology and geography, I was born just five years after the moment when, and just two hundred miles from the place where, two members of my own species discovered the structure of DNA and hence uncovered the greatest, simplest and most surprising secret in the universe.
Matt Ridley, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters.
There are in any ordinary object some extraordinary tales. It is then only necessary to look closely at the object, contemplate, scrutinize it long enough to discover its secret and the marvelous tales it contains.
There are in any ordinary object some extraordinary tales. It is then only necessary to look closely at the object, contemplate, scrutinize it long enough to discover its secret and the marvelous tales it contains.
Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary.
In 1953, . . .
In 1953, . . .
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
. . . with ingenuity, endless patience, and sparks of inspired guessing, . . .
. . . with ingenuity, endless patience, and sparks of inspired guessing, . . .
Barbara W. Tuchman, The Zimmermann Telegram.
. . . two biochemists at Cambridge University, F. H. C. Crick and J. D. Watson, . . .
. . . two biochemists at Cambridge University, F. H. C. Crick and J. D. Watson, . . .
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
. . . rapt in secret studies—
. . . rapt in secret studies—
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
. . . like a . . .
. . . like a . . .
Leonard Shengold, Soul Murder.
. . . crack team of . . .
. . . crack team of . . .
Barbara W. Tuchman, The Zimmermann Telegram (editor’s note).
. . . military . . .
. . . military . . .
Leonard Shengold, Soul Murder.
. . . decoders . . .
. . . decoders . . .
Barbara W. Tuchman, The Zimmermann Telegram (editor’s note).
. . . deduced that molecules of nucleic acids in viruses (and presumably elsewhere) consisted not of one, but of two nucleotide strands. This double strand was arranged in a helix about a common axis; that is in the form of two interlocking, spiral staircases about the same central post. The two strands were so arranged that the purines and pyrimidines of one faced the purines and pyrimidines of the other, each purine (or pyrimidine) . . .
. . . deduced that molecules of nucleic acids in viruses (and presumably elsewhere) consisted not of one, but of two nucleotide strands. This double strand was arranged in a helix about a common axis; that is in the form of two interlocking, spiral staircases about the same central post. The two strands were so arranged that the purines and pyrimidines of one faced the purines and pyrimidines of the other, each purine (or pyrimidine) . . .
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
. . . a step on the staircase . . .
. . . a step on the staircase . . .
Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil.
. . . being attached to the purine (or pyrimidine) opposite by a type of weak link called a hydrogen bond.
. . . being attached to the purine (or pyrimidine) opposite by a type of weak link called a hydrogen bond.
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
The hydrogen bonding requirement meant that adenine would always pair with thymine, while guanine could pair only with cytosine. Chargaff's rules [adenine equals thymine, guanine equals cytosine] then suddenly stood out as a consequence of a double helical structure for DNA. Even more exciting, this type of double helix suggested a replication scheme much more satisfactory than my briefly considered like-with-like pairing. Always pairing adenine with thymine and guanine with cytosine meant that the base sequences of the two intertwined chains were complementary to each other. Given the base sequence of one chain, that of its partner was automatically determined . . .
The hydrogen bonding requirement meant that adenine would always pair with thymine, while guanine could pair only with cytosine. Chargaff's rules [adenine equals thymine, guanine equals cytosine] then suddenly stood out as a consequence of a double helical structure for DNA. Even more exciting, this type of double helix suggested a replication scheme much more satisfactory than my briefly considered like-with-like pairing. Always pairing adenine with thymine and guanine with cytosine meant that the base sequences of the two intertwined chains were complementary to each other. Given the base sequence of one chain, that of its partner was automatically determined . . .
James D. Watson, The Double Helix.
. . . according to some prearranged pattern.
. . . according to some prearranged pattern.
Barbara W. Tuchman, The Zimmermann Telegram.
Conceptually, it was thus very easy to visualize how a single chain could be the template for the synthesis of a chain with the complementary sequence.
Conceptually, it was thus very easy to visualize how a single chain could be the template for the synthesis of a chain with the complementary sequence.
James D. Watson, The Double Helix.
The structure of the one strand determines the structure of the other; they fit together like a plug and a socket or one jigsaw piece and its neighbor . . .
The structure of the one strand determines the structure of the other; they fit together like a plug and a socket or one jigsaw piece and its neighbor . . .
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
. . . not independent of one another, but soldered together in pairs.
. . . not independent of one another, but soldered together in pairs.
Sigmund Freud, Notes Upon a Case of Obsessional Neurosis.
The discovery of DNA by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in 1952 revealed that a living creature is an organization of matter orchestrated by a . . .
The discovery of DNA by James D. Watson and Francis Crick in 1952 revealed that a living creature is an organization of matter orchestrated by a . . .
David Berlinski, The Deniable Darwin.
. . . genetic code . . .
. . . genetic code . . .
Isaac Asimov, The Wellsprings of Life.
. . . a genetic text.
. . . a genetic text.
David Berlinski, The Deniable Darwin.
Within the bacterial cell, for example, the book of life . . .
Within the bacterial cell, for example, the book of life . . .
David Berlinski, The Deniable Darwin.
. . . the code book . . .
. . . the code book . . .
Barbara W. Tuchman, The Zimmermann Telegram.
. . . is written in a distinctive language. The book is read aloud, its message specifying the construction of the cell's constituents, and then the book is copied, passed faithfully into the future.
. . . is written in a distinctive language. The book is read aloud, its message specifying the construction of the cell's constituents, and then the book is copied, passed faithfully into the future.
David Berlinski, The Deniable Darwin.
The idea of the genome as a book is not, strictly speaking, even a metaphor. It is literally true. A book is a piece of digital information, written in linear, one-dimensional and one-directional form and defined by a code that transliterates a small alphabet of signs into a large lexicon of meanings through the order of their groupings. So is a genome.
The idea of the genome as a book is not, strictly speaking, even a metaphor. It is literally true. A book is a piece of digital information, written in linear, one-dimensional and one-directional form and defined by a code that transliterates a small alphabet of signs into a large lexicon of meanings through the order of their groupings. So is a genome.
Matt Ridley, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters.
How . . .
How . . .
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
. . . much could be "written" using the DNA molecules from just one sperm . . .
. . . much could be "written" using the DNA molecules from just one sperm . . .
Francis Crick, Of Molecules and Men.
. . . cell?
. . . cell?
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
This comes to about five hundred large . . .
This comes to about five hundred large . . .
Francis Crick, Of Molecules and Men.
. . . books, . . .
. . . books, . . .
William Shakespeare, The Tempest.
. . . all different—a fair-sized private library.
. . . all different—a fair-sized private library.
Francis Crick, Of Molecules and Men.
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