Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley, Creator of the Electronic Age (Macmillan Science)

When William Shockley invented the transistor, the world was changed forever and he was awarded the Nobel Prize. But today Shockley is often remembered only for his incendiary campaigning about race, intelligence, and genetics. His dubious research led him to donate to the Nobel Prize sperm bank and preach his inflammatory ideas widely, making shocking pronouncements on the uselessness of remedial education and the sterilization of individuals with IQs below 100. Ultimately his crusade destroyed his reputation and saw him vilified on national television, yet he died proclaiming his work on race as his greatest accomplishment. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Joel N. Shurkin offers the first biography of this contradictory and controversial man. With unique access to the private Shockley archives, Shurkin gives an unflinching account of how such promise ended in such ignominy.

the First Biography Of William Shockley—inventor Of The Transistor, Father Of Silicon Semi-conductors, And Center Of One Of The Most Vicious Controversies In Modern Science

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it Is Ironic That The Nobel Prize Winner Widely Credited With Inventing The Transistor Should Be More Frequently Remembered For His Pseudo-scientific, Racist Views On Iq. William Shockley's Innovations At Shockley Semiconductor Laboratories Spawned The Tech-mecca Known Today As Silicon Valley. How Could This Man Drift From Solid-state Physics To The Genetics Of Human Intelligence, Treating It With Equal Intensity But Far Less Rigor Or, To Pose The Question Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist Shurkin (engines Of The Mind) Asks In His Preface, Why Would A Man As Unquestionably Brilliant As He Knowingly And Deliberately Destroy Himself? In Search Of Answers, Shurkin Combs Through A Trove Of Personal Documents And Family Memorabilia, Among Them The 1943 Suicide Note Shockley Saved After A Failed Attempt At Taking His Life. Knowing This Particular Aspect Of Shockley's Past Might Provide Some Context And Explanation For The Legendary Arrogance And Paranoia He Displayed In His Labs, As Well As For His Eventually Obsessive Advocacy Of Eugenics And Some Of Its Most Radical Protocols (e.g., Involuntary Sterilization). Shurkin Portrays Shockley As A Consummately Driven Man In All Of His Endeavors, Who Was, Ultimately, Driven To Self-destruction. Highly Recommended. Gregg Sapp, Science Lib., Univ. At Albany Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Details The Life Of Nobel Prize-winning Physicist William Shockley, Who Co-invented The Transistor And Was An Outspoken Advocate Of Eugenics. I: Moira: May And Billy -- 'i've Got Dark Eyes. I Can Frighten People' -- The Lightness Of Being -- Ii: Hubris: War And The Transistor -- 'of A Highly Explosive Character' -- 'i Hope You Have Better Luck In The Future' -- 'i Think We Better Call Shockley' -- 'there's Enough Glory In This For Everybody' -- '...to Do My Climbing By Moonlight & Unroped' -- 'well-equipped Female With Brains' -- Iii: Nemesis: Silicon Valley And Obsession -- 'really Peculiar Ideas About How To Motivate People' -- 'three Generations Of Imbeciles Are Enough' -- 'what Law Of Nature Have You Discovered?' -- 'someday We May Actually Be Terrible Alone' -- 'the High Cost Of Thinking The Unthinkable' -- 'i Love You'. Joel N. Shurkin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 274-284) And Index. William Shockley was awarded the Nobel Prize for his world changing invention of the transistor. He also researched and wrote on correlations between race and intelligence measured by IQ and was a supporter of eugenics. This involved him in polemics that still rage to this day. His ideas on remedial education as being a waste of time on those with very low IQs, and his calls for the sterilization of individuals with IQs below 100 (using the USA measurements of his day) led to systematic campaigns to destroy his reputation, so as to discredit his research. Shortly before he died he pronounced his work on genetic inheritance of intelligence and its relationship to race as his greatest accomplishment. In this work, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Joel N. Shurkin offers the first biography of Shockley having gained access to the private Shockley archives. When William Shockley invented the transistor, the world was changed forever and he was awarded the Nobel Prize. However, today Shockley is often remembered only for his incendiary campaigning about race, intelligence, and genetics. Ultimately his crusade destroyed his reputation and led him to being vilified on national television. An unflinching account of how such promise ended in such ignominy This is the first biography of William Shockley, founding father of Silicon Valley - one of the most significant and reviled scientists of the 20th century. Drawing upon unique access to the private Shockley archives, veteran technology historian and journalist Joel Shurkin gives an unflinching account of how such promise ended in such ignominy. A portrait of the controversial Nobel Prize-winning scientist documents his invention of the transistor and role in the founding of Silicon Valley before his beliefs about remedial education, race, and the sterilization of low-intelligence individuals destroyed his reputation. Reprint.