In this talk, Gopu introduces to a JBS Haldane, a polymath who lived briefly in Odisha. Haldane contributed to various fields like physilogy, genetics, biochemistry, statistics, biometry, cosmology, philosophy etc, although he claimed to possess no qualifications in any branch of science

1. R Gopu
Dravida Utkala Jatra
Nov 2016

2. Essays in Biology
 Alfred Russel Wallace
 JBS Haldane
 Stephen Jay Gould

3. Polymath
Contributed to
 Physiology
 Genetics
 Biochemistry
 Statistics
 Biometry
 Cosmology
 Philosophy
although he himself possessed no formal qualifications
in any branch of science

4. Haldane in India
 Indian Statistical Institute Calcutta 1957- 1961
 Feud with Mahalanobis
 Bhubaneshvar 1962-63
 Death 1964
 Criticised elimination of
Math for biologists
in school and college curricula

5. Why India
 First visit to India in 1917, to a British Army Hospital
 treat wounds in Mesopotamia
 Imminent retirement, divorce, 2nd marriage
 Disenchantment with Communism
 Appalled about UK policies 1956
 Liked neutralism of Nehru…
 … and the sunny Indian climate
 A classical scholar, drawn to India's ancient
civilizations, religions, languages, and cultures
 A passion – observing stars in Indian skies

6. Haldane on Wallace
“It was Alfred Russell Wallace, above all,
who saw that certain biological problems
are forced on one by a study of tropical life,
which are by no means so obvious in temperate climate”

7. Family
Father – John Scott Haldane, Prof at Oxford
Sister – Naomi Mitchison, writer
Uncle – Viscount Haldane, Minister of War,
Chancellor of Exchequer under Asquith
Great Uncle Burdon Sanderson – Prof at Oxford
Haldane claimed descent from Robert the Bruce

8. Education
 Haemoglobin!
 Trips down mineshafts with dad
 Log tables
 Eton and Oxford
 Mathematics and Classics!
 World War I – transferred by uncle to Scotland
 Dunn Readership in Biochemistry Cambridge
 “Mathematical Theory of Natural Selection”

9. Genetics
 Darwin and Wallace 1850s
 Several theories of Evolution
 Lamarck
 No evolution
 Divine
 Saltation
 Darwinian Eclipse 1870-1930

10. Genetics
 Genes : Gregor Mendel etc
 Rediscovery – Hugo de Vries, Carl Correns
 Mathematics in Biology
 Modern Synthesis - Neo Darwinism
 Ronald Fisher, Sewall Wright, Haldane
 DNA 1953
After Haldane
 Symbiogenesis
 Archaea

11. Dangerous Experiments
 With his dad, tested poisonous gases – on selves!
 Drank dilute HCl – to study acidity on blood
 High CO2
 violent headaches
 Oxygen saturation
 Crushed vertebrae
 Decompression Chamber
 Perforated eardrums
 “Smoke rings from ear”

12. Accomplishments
 Briggs Haldane Equation
 How many equations in biology?
 Oparin – Haldane hypothesis : Primordial Soup
 Estimation of Human mutation rates
 Proposed mechanism for in-vitro fertilization
 Suggested hydrogen based economy
 When coal is exhausted
 Suggested genetic basis for cloning humans
 Coined the word “clon”

13. Political Views
 Hated English education system
 Became a Communist
 Joined Communist party
 Speeches
 Wrote essays for Communism
 Supported Lysenko
 Then disowned him
 Quit communist Party
 Criticized Stalin
 But also admired him
 Pursued Nehruvian non-alignment
 And Hindu / Buddhist / Jain compassion for animals

14. On Being the Right Size
 One of Most famous essays in science
 Volume vs Surface area
 Mass vs strength
 Gravity vs Surface tension
 Blood vessels vs air holes
 Size and aerodynamics
 Large animals keep warm more easily
 Eye only works at a particular size

15. Famous Quotes
 “My own suspicion is that the universe
is not only queerer than we suppose,
but queerer than we can suppose.”
 "Teleology is like a mistress to a biologist: he cannot
live without her but he's unwilling to be seen with her
in public."
 What can be inferred about God from his Creation?
 “He has an inordinate fondness for beetles”

16. Haldane’s Poem on Cancer
I wish I had the voice of Homer
To sing of rectal carcinoma,
This kills a lot more chaps, in
fact,
Than were bumped off when
Troy was sacked………
Yet, thanks to modern surgeon’s
skills,
It can be killed before it kills
Upon a scientific basis
In nineteen out of twenty cases.
I noticed I was passing blood
(Only a few drops, not a flood).
So pausing on my homeward
way
From Tallahassee to Bombay
I asked a doctor, now my friend,
To peer into my hinder end,
To prove or to disprove the
rumour
That I had a malignant tumour.
They pumped in BaS04
Till I could really stand no more

17. Haldane’s Poem on Cancer
So now I am like two-faced
Janus
The only god who sees his anus.
In India there are several more
With extra faces, up to four,
But both in Brahma and in
Shiva
I own myself an unbeliever.
My final word, before I’m
done,
Is “Cancer can be rather fun”.
Thanks to the nurses and Nye
Bevan
The NHS is quite like heaven
Provided one confronts the
tumour
With a sufficient sense of
humour.
I know that cancer often kills,
But so do cars and sleeping
pills;
And it can hurt one till one
sweats,
So can bad teeth and unpaid
debts.
A spot of laughter, I am sure,
Often accelerates one's cure;
So let us patients do our bit
To help the surgeons make us
fit.

18. Dronam Raju on Haldane
“Haldane's last years in India are of interest because he
showed how an eminent scientist from the West can
transplant himself to a less developed country and still
lead a productive and creative life during his last years.
He suggested research projects that could be
undertaken by utilizing local resources, requiring no
expensive laboratories or equipment, while much of
his own research was of theoretical and mathematical
nature and hence not dependent on external funding”

19. Dronam Raju & Haldane