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Mitch M

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Mitch is Currently Reading

Mitch M is currently reading

Dune (Dune #1)

by Frank Patrick Herbert

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Apr 07, 2026 10:32AM

Mitch M is currently reading

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

by Stephen King (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: stephen-king, bookshelf, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

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Apr 07, 2026 10:31AM

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Letters to a Young Scientist

by Edward O. Wilson

bookshelves: science, self-help, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in April 2024

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Mitch M said: " Letters to a Young Scientist by Edward O. Wilson was overall pretty good and engaging! I found his style of discussing his experience in science, and using that experience to give recommendations and guidance to young scientists to connect with me, a Letters to a Young Scientist by Edward O. Wilson was overall pretty good and engaging! I found his style of discussing his experience in science, and using that experience to give recommendations and guidance to young scientists to connect with me, and I really enjoyed most of this book because of that. Some of the stories he told later in the book like the one on discovering ant pheromones, or the other about his discovery of and field test of the Theory of Island Biogeography were all really engaging and I loved hearing the story behind the science! We always get to read the science itself, but to me it feels a lot more human and relatable when I get to here the recounting of its discovery by those who did it. It's cool! But there is a lot of good advice to digest in this book. I'm glad that I annotated it, because there are good quotes, stories, and suggestions to improving your work everywhere that make this book a cool self-help for scientists / E. O. Wilson biography. I would definitely read this book again, and will likely return to it when I feel I need advice during my time as a wannabe scientist.

The only reason I brought it down two 3 stars was because of a few major points. On page 81, Wilson claims that "Real scientists do not take vacations". And at first I thought he was going to make a funny point about using a little bit of your vacation time to do some science, but no. Wilson legitimately believes that a scientist should never take time off, should only ever travel to do more research and professional development, and that any extra time you have should be spent on your students. I understand the dedication of this lifestyle, and maybe some scientists do want to be like this, but if you ask me this kind of sounds like some trauma that a person from the boomer generation is trying to pass down onto younger generations, and I'll pass on that. He makes another point in chapter 7 that isn't as bad, but just kind of gives off the vibe that scientists should do work alone and should be cutthroat about reaching the idea first. And I get it, if you don't jump on an idea it's very likely another will, but generalizing that real scientists "...prefer to take first steps alone" (p. 93) just doesn't sit right with me. A lot of scientific disciplines now are very collaborative and interdisciplinary. So broadly claiming that only the cool people do it alone and get collaborators only when they MUST just doesn't feel right. And finally, this man doesn't mention a single thing about environmental studies. This is just a nit pick, but he dives into many other scientific disciplines that aren't his own (ie. physics, chemistry, astronomy, etc.), but doesn't mention anything about the growing field of environmental sciences. Probably because they have a link with the social sciences too, which he dunks on at one point.

Anyway, this was an overall great book with a few major points that just rubbed me the wrong way. ...more "

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(page 101 of 256)
"Again, I love the chapter I just read talking about the people in one's life that encouraged their scientific interest. It makes me really want to reflect on my own experience and who's helped me onto the path I now flourish in." — Feb 24, 2026 09:51AM

Apr 16, 2024 06:04AM · see review

Mitch’s Quotes

“Though it might be nice to imagine there once was a time when man lived in harmony with nature, it’s not clear that he ever really did.”
― Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

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“your immune system is also not a singular thing. It is a complex and interconnected collection of hundreds of bases and recruitment centers all over your body.”
― Philipp Dettmer, Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive - from YouTube's KURZGESAGT IN A NUTSHELL

5 likes

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
― Ernest Hemingway

tags: humility, self-improvement

5372 likes

“It would be very hard for you to live a happy life if you were covered in wiggling, buzzing tiny crabs that you could never get rid of.”
― Philipp Dettmer, Immune: A Journey Into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive

7 likes