Les.
The Making of a Scientist
Summary
The Making of a Scientist' is a fascinating story of Richard Ebright, an only
child who is curious and has a love for collecting things. With encouragement
from his mother, he collects all the species of butterflies in the vicinity,
learns to tag them and track their journey with the help of Dr. Urquhart. All
through his high school, he participates in Science Fairs with increasing level
of confidence and research and wins laurels. Along with his roommate,
Richard then starts investigating the relevance of the gold spots on a pupa.
They isolate the hormone present in these spots and win permission to work
in prestigious laboratories. Then they use this information to try and decipher
the form and function of a cell. His high school research on the purpose of
the spots on a monarch pupa eventually leads him to his theory about cell
life. Richard has the right attitude to be a great scientist. He not only spends
time on his research, but also becomes a great debater, public speaker and a
canoeist.
Long Questions
1. Give a brief character sketch of Ebright's mother
Ans. Richard H. Ebright's mother was an important driving force behind him
who laid the foundation of his success. Ebright was her only child whom she
affectionately called 'Richie'. After her husband's death, her son who was in
third grade, was her whole life. She would encourage his interest in learning
and would take him to trips, buy him telescopes, microscopes, cameras,
mounting materials, and other equipments. She was his only companion until
he started school. After that, she would bring home his friends for him and at
night be with him to do things together. She would spend almost every
evening at the dining room table with her son 'Richie'. When he did not have
things to do, she would find work for him that would help him learn things.
This support, guidance, care and concern of Ebright's mother, helped the
growth of a curious child into an accomplished scientist.
2. Without the encouragement of his mother, Ebright would not have been
the scientist he became. Discuss.
Ans. The support of parents has been one of the greatest strength in the
lives of people who have achieved greatness in their fields of work. In the
case of Ebright becoming a great scientist too, his mother contributed
hugely. Ebright's mother encouraged his interest in learning. She took him on
trips, bought him telescopes, microscopes, cameras, mounting materials and
other equipments and helped him in many other ways. She would sit with
him every night and help him learn new things by creating relevant work for
him. She allowed his curiosity to learn to flourish. When his interest was
beginning to wane, his mother got him a book called "The Travels of Monarch
X." That book opened the world of science to Ebright. Thus, without the
encouragement of his mother, Ebright would not have reached the heights
that he did.
3. Richard Ebright had all the ingredients for the making of a scientist.
Discuss.
Ans. Richard Ebright was bright and intelligent from childhood. Beginning in
kindergarten, Ebright collected butterflies with the same determination that
has marked all his activities. It is necessary for a scientist to be curious about
the things around him, so that it may ignite a quest for further research and
finding satisfactory answers to unanswered questions. He had a driving
curiosity along with a bright mind. His competitive spirit led him to win many
laurels at Science Fairs. The three most important qualities of a scientist are
a first-rate mind, curiosity, and the will to win for the right reasons. A
scientist has to be competitive but not in the bad way. All these qualities
were there in Richard Ebright and so he was a great scientist.
