Wafer of the sea

Many readers will have noticed the recent trend toward quotations at the beginnings of chapters in scientific books. Often these quotes are sappy, dippy little things as if the authors of the book were struggling for profundity. Perhaps they want to give their self-indugent esoteric musings some hint of relevance to the rapidly deteriorating human condition, to cast shadow of importance over the gray wall of clinical facts to follow. Most pathetic of all is the hopeless clod who quotes himself. He is, in effect, baldly stating that he has, with his own mind, assembled something profound, clever, or at least amusing to his fellow primates. This kind of conceit will detract from his scientific standing. Nor should humor be attempted, at any cost, it represents a distraction to the clear, analytical thought necessary for scientific progress. — McKinney, from “Jawless fish and hairless apes: ruminations from the edge of the photic zone”