Elof Carlson is Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at Stony Brook University. A geneticist and historian of science, he is author of The Gene: A Critical History; Genes, Radiation, and Society: The Life and Work of H. J. Muller; The Unfit: A History of a Bad Idea; Mendel's Legacy: The Origin of Classical Genetics; Times of Triumph, Times of Doubt: Science and the Battle for Public Trust; and Neither Gods Nor Beasts: How Science Is Changing Who We Think We Are.