Friday, January 28, 2011

Nabokov Theory on Polyommatus Blue Butterflies Is Vindicated - NYTimes.com

Expert testimony: Is it limited to those with degrees lined up behind their names? No.

When one hears "Vladimir Nabokov," it's generally visions of Lolita, not butterflies, that float into view. Yes, Nabokov was an exceptional novelist, but he was also a butterfly expert ... lepidopterist. Of course, in his time, he was accepted as "a dutiful but undistinguished researcher" by professionals and only found vindication of his theories after his death. It was DNA that would prove Nabokov's butterfly migration theories based on "differences in their genitalia."

So, a word of caution about throwing around "questionable authority" accusations: Check out the bona fides first.

Nabokov Theory on Polyommatus Blue Butterflies Is Vindicated - NYTimes.com

No comments:

Post a Comment