Late, Great Watson Explored Supernatural, Kept Pet Tapeworm

In our hyperspecialized, citation index-happy era, scientists like the late Lyall Watson -- biologist, geologist, anthropologist and adventurer -- are a vanishing breed.

Sure, his theories weren't always accurate. But they were lots of fun, as was his life, a record of which overlows the boundaries of his obituary in today's New York Times.

Among other things, the South African-born Watson earned degrees in eight scientific disciplines; filmed nature documentaries for the BBC; ran a safari company; created a whale sanctuary; promoted championship sumo wrestling; led expeditions into Antarctica, Madagascar and the Kalahari desert; wrote a best-selling history of supernatural science; lived for 12 years on a boat in the Amazon; and named his tapeworm Fred.

Where were the seeds of his polymathic brilliance sown? In a telling anecdote, the* Times* recounts how

In an effort to tame him and his rambunctious friends, Mo’s grandmother drove the lot of them to a beach shack made of driftwood and left them with a month’s provisions and instructions to fend for themselves. The tribe prospered, and the exercise was repeated every summer thereafter.

You probably won't find that sort of advice in the parenting section of your nearest Borders, and it's a shame.

Images: Watson, right, with new age artist Penny Slinger; the cover of Lifetide: The Biology of the Unconscious, which science fiction titan Stanislaw Lem called a "concentrated package of misinformation" that would "require several years of work by a whole team of authors" to correct.

See Also:

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