Report from Cell Block #4

MBOC described cell biology in terms of its findings— 1400 pp. $102.00 the text was full of experiments and images, including many electron micrographs, and chapters ended with references to specific journal articles as well as reviews. The presence of these experiments supported a peda-receives a coded message. Inspection of the string of gogy centered around how we know what we know numbers and words leads irresistibly to the conclusion about cells. Third, the text made liberal use of cartoons that the key to the message is an unnamed book. Simple and diagrams. This habit is now universal in lectures ratiocination shows that the sender of the message as-directed at either colleagues or sophomores, but its sumed that Holmes would already possess the book: importance in making the subject clear to students can-" Our search is narrowed down to standardized books not be overemphasized. which anyone may be supposed to possess, " says From this beginning, subsequent editions have ad-Holmes. As I read this story aloud to my 10 year old vanced with the field while negotiating several hazards. son, he interrupted, puzzled about what kind of book One hazard has been the growth of knowledge of the Holmes had in mind. I pointed out that everyone has biology of cells. As more problems have been solved, books at home, but different people have different and new ones uncovered, the volume of material being books. Holmes was trying to identify some book that reviewed has increased. Inevitably, pressure appeared everyone would have. My son immediately replied " Oh, to reduce the attention to experiments in order to free like Molecular Biology of the Cell! " " Huh? " was my in-space for the new discoveries and systems that have spired reply. " Sure, " he said, " you've got that book, and come to light since the last edition was published; the so result was fewer images and more cartoons. The Everybody has that book! " dreaded end point of this process is the canonical intro-I think this story reflects the common experience of ductory biology textbook: an interminable list of the cell biologists—everyone (or more precisely, a million " facts " of the field, hung on principles whose origins are people or so) owns a copy of the Molecular Biology of simply deus ex machina. A second hazard, or pair of the Cell, acquired as a text for an …