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William Alexander Waters
(8 May 1903 - 28 Jan 1985)
Welsh chemist who was a pioneer in the solution chemistry of free radicals, and in an obituary was called “one of the most perceptive and original organic chemists of his generation.”
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Science Quotes by William Alexander Waters (2 quotes)
…we all had to learn a number of XIXth century rules—such as Markownikov’s rule for addition to olefins, Thiele’s 1:4—addition rules for conjugated systems and Crum Brown’s rule for aromatic substitution. It was just like learning Latin grammar.
— William Alexander Waters
Looking back to a time 60 years before, he expressed his dissatisfied with organic chemistry based on rules rather than the understanding he was to make his career. As quoted in obituary by R.O.C. Norman, J.H. Jones, T.M. Lowry and J.F. Duff, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society (Dec 1986) 32, 601.
The struggle between the unitary and dualistic theories of chemical affinity, which raged for nearly a century, was a form of civil war between inorganic and organic chemists.
— William Alexander Waters
Comment made on a postcard sent to Robin O. Gandy. Reproduced in Andrew Hodges, Alan Turing: The Enigma (1983), 513.
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion.
(1987) -- 
