Watson Pretentious and Uninspiring

Since discovering the double-helix shape of DNA in 1953, Nobel Laureate James Watson has been a fixture in the news—far too often for his controversial views. Just last month, Watson expressed his belief that black people might have genetically inferior intelligence. In the ensuing uproar, Watson stepped down from his 40-year post as chancellor of the Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory and cancelled the tour for his newly-released book, “Avoid Boring People.” So do the new 368 pages of prose contain any of Watson’s controversial bombs?

Fortunately, in print, Watson does not make any broad statements about race, although he does manage to make some mildly offensive comments. As the title suggests, Watson sets himself up as a self-help guru dispensing advice based on his own life story. While Watson, as one of the most important American scientists of the 20th century, has some fascinating anecdotes to share, his shallow and often useless advice fails to leave a significant impact and is indicative of the sort of socially disconnected mind that would casually make such outlandish statements.

In telling his life story, Watson begins with his childhood and works his way to the present. Born in 1928, Watson had an interesting early life. He was a highly motivated child who had to work hard to get an education during the Depression and World War II. In fact, a number of childhood coincidences seemed to destine him for greatness. Not only was Watson a not-too-distant cousin of Orson Welles, he also played handball on a field at the University of Chicago that covered the lab where researchers were developing the atomic bomb. In Watson’s adult years, he made good on his early promise, using his education to rise to the top of the American science scene and win the Nobel Prize. The book is relatively fast-paced and never dwells too long on one subject.

But though initially engaging, the book eventually leaves the reader feeling rather put-off. Each chapter bears a title that begins with some variation on “Manners Learned As” followed by a description of the stage in his life, such as, “Manners Needed For Important Science” and “Manners Appropriate For a Nobel Prize.” These chapter titles are incredibly stiff and disconnected from the rest of the material. It is strange that someone should describe the stages of his life in terms of the “manners” he learned. Furthermore, the chapters rarely discuss Watson’s manners. Instead, Watson merely recounts his memories and then, at the end of each chapter, adds a “Lessons Learned” section with “lessons” that rarely have anything to do with manners. A man capable of so many controversial, offensive utterances is, to say the least, an unlikely candidate for claiming he has learned and can teach manners, a la Emily Post.

In the “Lessons Learned” sections, Watson gives advice which will not apply to most readers since most people will never become Nobel Prize-winning scientists. Of the pieces of advice that are applicable to the average reader, many are clichéd and lack insight. For example, in the first chapter of the book, Watson’s banal advice is to “Find a Young Hero to Emulate.”

Other tidbits of advice simply come across as pretentious, such as “Avoid gatherings of more than two Nobel Prize winners.” Watson’s rationale: most Nobel Prize winners have had their heyday, so gathering them simply leads to a boring atmosphere anchored in the past. (I doubt most of us stay up late at night worrying about having too many Nobel Prize winners at our next kegger.) Other advice is simply useless, such as “Don’t Take Up Golf.” Watson does occasionally hit the mark, but his pronouncements mostly induce eye-rolling and a fervent desire to know why a man who has done so much in his life could not come up with more lessons that are actually useful.

From the advice at the end of the chapters, Watson draws the book’s title, “Avoid Boring People.” Watson gives this piece of advice twice in the book, the first time advising people to avoid others who are boring, and the second time advising people not to be boring themselves. It’s hard to help feeling that Watson himself could do better on the second count.

While Watson’s anecdotes are often fascinating, the book simply does not fulfill its potential, thanks in large part to its unpleasant, conceited atmosphere. Yet, when the reader looks at the book in perspective, perhaps he should be relieved that Watson’s most controversial comment is about avoiding boring people, not about questioning genetic capabilities based on race.