With increased national attention focused on scientific activities,
some people have developed strange notions about the man who wears a
lab coat. Scientists have a high degree of objectivity in the
laboratory, but they usually are not different from the rest of
society in matters of religion, marriage, parenthood, or politics.
Often they don’t adhere to a strict eight-hour day, but neither does a
salesman. They may seem unusually dedicated to their profession, but
so does a master chef. They rarely are geniuses; sometimes they have
superior intelligence; but frequently they have ordinary intelligence.
Most are reasonably well balanced, some are eccentric, and a few are
downright peculiar. But these same characteristics can describe
lawyers, businessmen, and secretaries.