08-22-2006, 05:01 AM
The ABC are repeating the "DNA" documentary series in the daytime. James Watson, one of the team who discovered the structure of DNA, who it is believed has an autistic relative, and who plays an important role in current genetic research in the US, is featured in this interesting series.
Todays episode was a wonderful illustration of how the visual-spatial thinking style (that is associated with autism) was absolutely central to the discovery of the structure and workings of DNA. James Watson is shown constructing a model out of cardboard. Many times over writers have described how crucial autistic Ablert Einstein's visual-spatial thinking style was to his discoveries in physics, and the same mode of thinking has obviously been just as important in biology.
Todays episode was a wonderful illustration of how the visual-spatial thinking style (that is associated with autism) was absolutely central to the discovery of the structure and workings of DNA. James Watson is shown constructing a model out of cardboard. Many times over writers have described how crucial autistic Ablert Einstein's visual-spatial thinking style was to his discoveries in physics, and the same mode of thinking has obviously been just as important in biology.