𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗
@charlescmann.bsky.social
Author of "1491, "1493," and, most recently, "The Wizard and the Prophet." Working, inefficiently, on another book.
The background image is pretty old by now, but I like the pig. The avatar photo is only a couple years old, though, so that's something.
The background image is pretty old by now, but I like the pig. The avatar photo is only a couple years old, though, so that's something.
It's a weird extension of the all-too-widespread trope that anyone who holds any kind of opinion different from yours must be paid to do it. E.g., the recent claims that people at No Kings rallies are being paid by Soros to attend.
November 10, 2025 at 5:34 PM
It's a weird extension of the all-too-widespread trope that anyone who holds any kind of opinion different from yours must be paid to do it. E.g., the recent claims that people at No Kings rallies are being paid by Soros to attend.
"... The result is that stereotypically 'male' bad behavior gets singled out and punished in ways that stereotypically 'female' bad behavior doesn't. But, you know what, that's OK--the bad 'male' behavior can go up to assault, which *should* be punished harder than gossipy backbiting or whatever."
November 10, 2025 at 2:13 PM
"... The result is that stereotypically 'male' bad behavior gets singled out and punished in ways that stereotypically 'female' bad behavior doesn't. But, you know what, that's OK--the bad 'male' behavior can go up to assault, which *should* be punished harder than gossipy backbiting or whatever."
Fascinating. Wonder how it interacts with rebar. And if the pours have to follow some precise methodology.
November 9, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Fascinating. Wonder how it interacts with rebar. And if the pours have to follow some precise methodology.
Correction: Feynman was already in physics, as @immitb.bsky.social points out, when the DoubleH came out. When he told me and my co-author about how inspiring the book was, he must've been referring to his students. (Same for Glashow.) I should'nt've referred to that w/o looking back at my notes.
November 9, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Correction: Feynman was already in physics, as @immitb.bsky.social points out, when the DoubleH came out. When he told me and my co-author about how inspiring the book was, he must've been referring to his students. (Same for Glashow.) I should'nt've referred to that w/o looking back at my notes.
I meant Feynman, who told my coauthor and I about how much the book had inspired him. Now, thanks to your note, I realize he was already in physics (he'd won a Nobel!) when the book came out. My memory must've been faulty--he must've been talking about his students. Thanks for the correction.
November 9, 2025 at 5:18 PM
I meant Feynman, who told my coauthor and I about how much the book had inspired him. Now, thanks to your note, I realize he was already in physics (he'd won a Nobel!) when the book came out. My memory must've been faulty--he must've been talking about his students. Thanks for the correction.
The guy made really remarkable contributions to science and he was a total asshole.
November 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
The guy made really remarkable contributions to science and he was a total asshole.
25 yrs later, Science asked me to do a 25th anniversary mRNA story. I interviewed Watson and he was so insulting and unpleasant to me that for the only time in my career I called an editor and refused to continue working on a story. (And I had John Vane swindle me into paying for his $600 dinner.)
November 9, 2025 at 5:04 PM
25 yrs later, Science asked me to do a 25th anniversary mRNA story. I interviewed Watson and he was so insulting and unpleasant to me that for the only time in my career I called an editor and refused to continue working on a story. (And I had John Vane swindle me into paying for his $600 dinner.)
Similarly, he was the PI at the lab that did the basic work on mRNA in the early 1960s. During that time, he was notable for sponsoring the careers of female scientists--Begley quotes one of them. (Brenner's lab did very similar work at the same time.)
November 9, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Similarly, he was the PI at the lab that did the basic work on mRNA in the early 1960s. During that time, he was notable for sponsoring the careers of female scientists--Begley quotes one of them. (Brenner's lab did very similar work at the same time.)
But the book captures the excitement of science in a way that I don't think any book did before it. It inspired ppl like Feynman and Glashow to go into physics. It slipped in amazing amounts of science, as Crick later recognized.
It was a remarkable achievement made by running over innocent people.
It was a remarkable achievement made by running over innocent people.
November 9, 2025 at 4:57 PM
But the book captures the excitement of science in a way that I don't think any book did before it. It inspired ppl like Feynman and Glashow to go into physics. It slipped in amazing amounts of science, as Crick later recognized.
It was a remarkable achievement made by running over innocent people.
It was a remarkable achievement made by running over innocent people.
The Double Helix is a great example. He was a total jerk about Franklin and I don't think he even mentioned Gosling, who took Photo 51. And he was such a jerk to Crick and Wilkins that Crick threatened to sue and got Harvard to refuse to publish it (It went to Atheneum.) Bragg, too, was furious.
November 9, 2025 at 4:54 PM
The Double Helix is a great example. He was a total jerk about Franklin and I don't think he even mentioned Gosling, who took Photo 51. And he was such a jerk to Crick and Wilkins that Crick threatened to sue and got Harvard to refuse to publish it (It went to Atheneum.) Bragg, too, was furious.
Also of note: Begley, a fine science writer, died in Jan. 2021, so this obit was presumably written in about 2020. Remarkable that she did this, and remarkable that Stat News hung onto it.
November 9, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Also of note: Begley, a fine science writer, died in Jan. 2021, so this obit was presumably written in about 2020. Remarkable that she did this, and remarkable that Stat News hung onto it.
..whereas this Sharon Begley obit in Stat News wrestles admirably with that bad turn but seriously slights his scientific accomplishments. (The quote from Ernst Mayr [Ernst Mayr!] is devastating as an indication of Watson's later status, but way over the top, as he acknowledges.)
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:56 PM
..whereas this Sharon Begley obit in Stat News wrestles admirably with that bad turn but seriously slights his scientific accomplishments. (The quote from Ernst Mayr [Ernst Mayr!] is devastating as an indication of Watson's later status, but way over the top, as he acknowledges.)
Note: The Interior Secretary was Gale Norton, not Dale Norton, as I incorrectly typed. Thanks to @dustinmulvaney.bsky.social for the correction.
November 8, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Note: The Interior Secretary was Gale Norton, not Dale Norton, as I incorrectly typed. Thanks to @dustinmulvaney.bsky.social for the correction.
Ugh, thanks. Will note.
November 8, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Ugh, thanks. Will note.
This year, salmon reached parts of the Klamath where they hadn't been seen in a century. Let the joy of the river peoples be a fitting monument to Dick Cheney's passing.
Salmon seen for first time in century after historic Calif. dam removal
In an impressive feat, the salmon have crossed over the river's remaining dams.
www.sfgate.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:27 PM
This year, salmon reached parts of the Klamath where they hadn't been seen in a century. Let the joy of the river peoples be a fitting monument to Dick Cheney's passing.
For Indigenous nations on the Klamath--the Yurok, Karuk, Hupa, Klamath, Shasta, and others--salmon are a huge deal--life itself. The destruction was crushing. But in the long run Cheney's move backfired. It galvanized resistance that led last year to the removal of four giant salmon-killing dams.
November 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
For Indigenous nations on the Klamath--the Yurok, Karuk, Hupa, Klamath, Shasta, and others--salmon are a huge deal--life itself. The destruction was crushing. But in the long run Cheney's move backfired. It galvanized resistance that led last year to the removal of four giant salmon-killing dams.
Summer 2002 was as hot as summer 2001. With irrigation taking the water, river levels fell. The water got hot, perfect conditions for gill rot, a fungal disease. Salmon, packed into low water, transmitted the disease amongst themselves. It was the worst salmon die off ever recorded--a nightmare.
November 8, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Summer 2002 was as hot as summer 2001. With irrigation taking the water, river levels fell. The water got hot, perfect conditions for gill rot, a fungal disease. Salmon, packed into low water, transmitted the disease amongst themselves. It was the worst salmon die off ever recorded--a nightmare.
Norton flew to Klamath Falls to open the headgates of the irrigation dams the next spring and to promise Republican-leaning farmers the water would flow. It was all part of Cheney's behind the scenes attempt to boost Oregon's imperiled Republican senator, Gordon Smith, facing a tough race in 2002.
Leaving No Tracks
www.washingtonpost.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Norton flew to Klamath Falls to open the headgates of the irrigation dams the next spring and to promise Republican-leaning farmers the water would flow. It was all part of Cheney's behind the scenes attempt to boost Oregon's imperiled Republican senator, Gordon Smith, facing a tough race in 2002.
Cheney secretly got Interior Sec'y Dale Norton to appoint a new scientific panel that claimed the fish didn't need the water. Fierce criticisms by the National Marine Fisheries Service team in the area were edited out of the report; the lead biologist resigned in protest.
November 8, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Cheney secretly got Interior Sec'y Dale Norton to appoint a new scientific panel that claimed the fish didn't need the water. Fierce criticisms by the National Marine Fisheries Service team in the area were edited out of the report; the lead biologist resigned in protest.
A 2001 drought cut the flow of the Klamath so much there wasn't enough water to give upstream farmers irrigation water and preserve the salmon, which were listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Bureau of Reclamation stopped irrigation. Protesting farmers formed a bucket brigade to take water.
Bucket Brigade - Anders Tomlinson
A Community Decides to Break a Law. There must be something they can do. The Bucket Brigade Protest on May 7, 2001 began as a bright-blue morning with puffy Simpson-like clouds, unseasonably warm with...
anderstomlinson.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:10 PM
A 2001 drought cut the flow of the Klamath so much there wasn't enough water to give upstream farmers irrigation water and preserve the salmon, which were listed under the Endangered Species Act. The Bureau of Reclamation stopped irrigation. Protesting farmers formed a bucket brigade to take water.