Sinopsis

JBS Haldane F.R.S. (1892-1964) was one of the leading scientists of the 20th Century, renowned for helping to reconcile Darwin's theory of Natural Selection with Mendel's discovery of genes, through statistical wizardry. He was the product of a distinguished family of scientists and public figures: his father, the noted Oxford physiologist John Scott Haldane, invented decompression techniques still used by deep sea divers today, while his uncle Lord Richard Haldane served in Lloyd George's cabinet. 'JBS' also trained and influenced a swathe of students and colleagues, at Oxford, Cambridge and University College London, many of whom went on to distinction in their own right, such as the evolutionary theorist John Maynard Smith.
As a widely known left-wing 'public intellectual', Haldane gained fame as a popularizer of science and commentator on public affairs, broadcasting often on the BBC and publishing extensively in newspapers and magazines, a presence aided by useful...