I Was Never Very Good At Exams,

I Was Never Very Good At Exams, Having A Poor Memory And Finding The Examination Process Rather Artificial, And There Never Seemed To Be Enough Time To Follow Up Things That Really Interested Me.

I Have An Idealistic View Of Science As A Liberalising And Progressive Force For Humanity.

I Think It Was This Curiosity About The Natural World Which Awoke My Early Interest In Science.

After An Extensive Interview He Arranged For My Weaknesses In Foreign Languages To Be Over-looked And So I Started A Biology Degree At Birmingham In 1967.

Like Many Students, I Found The Drudgery Of Real Experiments And The Slowness Of Progress A Complete Shock, And At My Low Points I Contemplated Other Alternative Careers Including Study Of The Philosophy Or Sociology Of Science.