I Died for Beauty: A Biography of Dorothy Wrinch
Marjorie Senechal
Abstract
Dorothy Wrinch, a complicated and ultimately tragic figure, is remembered today for her much publicized feud with Linus Pauling over the shape of proteins, known as “the cyclol controversy.” Pauling emerged victorious and is now seen as one of the twentieth century's greatest scientists. History has proven less kind to Wrinch. Although some of Wrinch's theories did not pass the test of time, her contributions to the fields of Darwinism, probability and statistics, quantum mechanics, x-ray diffraction, and computer science were anything but inconsequential. Wrinch's story is also the story of t ... More
Dorothy Wrinch, a complicated and ultimately tragic figure, is remembered today for her much publicized feud with Linus Pauling over the shape of proteins, known as “the cyclol controversy.” Pauling emerged victorious and is now seen as one of the twentieth century's greatest scientists. History has proven less kind to Wrinch. Although some of Wrinch's theories did not pass the test of time, her contributions to the fields of Darwinism, probability and statistics, quantum mechanics, x-ray diffraction, and computer science were anything but inconsequential. Wrinch's story is also the story of the science of crystals and the ever-changing notion of symmetry fundamental to that science. Drawing on a personal relationship with Wrinch as well as the papers archived at Smith College and elsewhere, this book explores the life of this brilliant and controversial figure. This biography provides a biographical narration, a detailed account of the cyclol controversy, and a personal memoir of the author's relationship with Wrinch. The book presents a sympathetic portrait of the life and science of a luminous but tragically flawed character.
Keywords:
Dorothy Wrinch,
Linus Pauling,
the cyclol controversay,
Darwinism,
probability,
statistics,
quantum mechanics,
x-ray diffraction,
computer science,
crystals
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2012 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199732593 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: March 2015 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199732593.001.0001 |
