Preface

There is a story about a very tall man who was walking with his four-year-old son to pick up a newspaper. He suddenly realized that his son was having difficulty keeping up with him. He said, “Sorry, Tommy, am I walking too fast?” And the boy said, “No, Daddy, I am.”

Now this account can be viewed in two ways: as an amusing story, or joke or, as illustrating the essence of scientific discovery. The boy's view of the situation was correct but not obvious. The father's view was obvious but wrong.

So it is perhaps no coincidence when humor and scientific insight come together. Good science is a form of wit, of seeing the joke that nature is playing on us.

At 93, I can look back on quite a few examples.

The Box family circa 1895. From left clockwise, Uncle Bertie, my grandfather and grandmother, my father, Aunt Daisy, Uncle Pelham, and Aunt Lina.