CHAPTER 8
The Vigilant Gardener
Pulling Weeds and Cultivating Wildflowers
Imagine running a Silicon Valley biotechnology company. Would you hire Kary Mullis? Before his death in August 2019 at age 74, Mullis had earned a PhD in biochemistry at UC Berkeley and won a richly deserved reputation:
• Difficult, aggressive, disruptive, and even violent in work settings
• A heavy drinker and an LSD-tripper
• Skeptical that HIV caused AIDS
• An expert on time travel
• A climate-change denier and a confirmed believer in astrology
• An inveterate, highly jealous philanderer
• Lazy and paranoid
• Unreliable
A no-brainer, right? See you later, Kary Mullis! But wait. Before you slam the door behind Kary as he leaves your office, consider a few more facts ...
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