Back when I was fresh out of grad school, a mere pup still pinching myself that I was constructively participating in this marvelous endeavor called “science,” I noticed in a book store an issue of Time magazine proclaiming “America’s 40 Leaders Under 40.” Since, back in those days, I was technically eligible for honors and awards bestowed upon people under the age of 40 in a way that I no longer am, I turned to the article in anticipation. Perhaps they had written something about me without actually letting me know, right?
Somewhat to my surprise — there I was! Or someone with my name, in any event. Further sleuthing revealed that this guy was Sean B. Carroll, an evolutionary biologist in Wisconsin. Clearly there had been some sort of mixup on the part of Time magazine, but I would forgive them and him this once.
The problem is, the guy refuses to go away. He becomes some sort of evo-devo guru, gets elected to the National Academy of Sciences, writes books — and they’re good books! I’ve read some of them. I hate this guy.
But at least, through it all, I had the blog. A little realm of intellectual endeavor (ahem) that I could enjoy free of interference from other Sean Carrolls. True, the very first link to my own blog was from PZ, who expressed profound disappointment that I was not the other SC. But through it all, as I deflected occasional requests to referee papers about fruit flies or speak at fancy conferences on evolution, and accepted that I was not the first answer to questions like “Who is that Sean Carroll who does science?” or “Who is that Sean Carroll who writes books?”, I was at least the appropriate response if someone were to ask “Who is that Sean Carroll who blogs?” And I had the superior Google page rank to prove it.
So now, here in the Darwin Year, what does (former, I’m thinking) friend-of-the-blog Tom Levenson go and do? He recruits the other Sean Carroll for a blogging project! So Simple a Beginning seems to be the name, although the project itself doesn’t seem to “exist” quite yet. Blogging about The Origin of Species, blah blah blah.
I guess I need to find some other area of human accomplishment in which I am likely to be the leading Sean Carroll of the world for some time to come. Playing poker? Making ice cream? My skill set is rather circumscribed, it would seem. Suggestions welcome.
Sean,
Funny, I came across that confusion, too, as I have books by both of you.
Maybe you could set up a conference for literarily active folks by the name “Sean Carroll”. It would be an energy-saver for visitors, who could great you all collectively with a “Hi, Sean Carrolls!”
…although the project itself doesn’t seem to “exist” quite yet.
I’m sure it will evolve.
I do think you’re taking the wrong approach to this. You should welcome – and take credit for – this other fellow’s accomplishments. He is working his *** off to build up your CV!
It’s “The Origin of Species,” not “of the species.”
Wow. I’ve dreamed about correcting one of my heroes. But when the day finally comes, man, it’s just indescribable. I’m king of the comment-osphere!
I like to include some sort of mistake in every post. Just to give our loyal readers the thrill of correcting me.
The Sean Carroll to whom Charles Darwin would prefer to talk might depend on the
Charles Darwin
Modern science began on April 27, 1675 with “experimentum crucis,” conducted by then thirty-three-year-old Isaac Newton, and it must now sadly end with the retirement of a much older Sean Carroll. You’ve got to finish your work long before forty!
I expect that the new Sean Carroll will prove to be somewhat more politically radical – and palatable – as his new countenance mildly promises. As for the obsolete Sean Carroll? I found him working as Oprah Winfrey’s personal physical trainer, somewhere far away:
http://www.oprah.com/oafhost/bgreene
So much for cosmology, eh?
32! More far gone than I thought!
You are one hell of a magnanimous cosmologist, Sean.
Can’t really believe i am about to say this, but your arrow of time is way longer than his; and it also has a greater chance to do other tricky stuff too.
The Other Sean totally has you beat in the beard department. But it would be hard for him to win the Cool Wife competition.
You could consider changing your name to Mr. Jennifer Ouellette and be done with it.
TMS, good point
But Sean, you even have a particle named after you!
http://arxiv.org/abs/0901.2853
[Better check version 1]
Sean, you are SO missing the point. Come on, think: what’s super cool about having a name-recognition rival whose work you simultaneously admire and resent?
…letting your mind build an epic, cosmic battle out of the creative and professional tension such a situation engenders! Duh.
Take a look at how lucky you really are, man. Most people have to fully construct an archnemesis for themselves in order to imbue their actions with the comic book-level of apocalyptic urgency we all so deeply desire to recognize as characterizing our lives. That’s a lot of cognitive labor, and just to get started! It takes that much more upkeep to continuously remind ourselves of the fictional narrative threads we’ve decided to let ourselves believe in (ere we fall into the humdrum regularities of day-to-day existence, whose escape was our goal to begin with). The payoff, of course, is the mythological significance our deeds attain when measured against this melodramatic, imaginary backdrop.
But you, Sean? You already have a REAL Sean Carroll running around out there doing good science and writing books and making your name connote HIS work. And now, he’s stepped onto your turf. I had a similar experience when, after having made a name for myself among my peers and professors, another “Doug” showed up to my program. He was competent and likable (a fine example of Doughood, it must be said) so I let him stay–but only after using my power to ensure that he would be known as The Lesser Doug, or Doug #2, or No-Not-That-Doug, etc. What mattered was simply that the public invocation of his name immediately establish him as a sort of derivative of my own, Original Dougness. This was achieved by me actively promoting the comparison and praising Other Doug for his own strengths in everyday conversation. All I had to do was make sure that the last impression with which others walked away from the conversation–the final thought, the synthesis achieved through our seemingly innocent, amiable chatter–was something to the effect of, “Yeah, new Doug is a Doug, but there’s really only one Doug in the way that, you know, Doug is.”
In light of the amount of fun you could be having with this, can you honestly do no better than gripe? Your motivation must not be to become recognized as the leading Sean Carroll in human endeavor X; it must be to relish in plotting the slow destruction of your rival. Remember, YOU’RE Sean Carroll the blogger/scientist. Who’s this guy? Why, he’s Sean Carroll *too*.
After that, never, ever allow his face to slip out from under your boot any farther than is allowed by the slim margin of possible praise you’ve already defined for his blogging career.
I feel your pain, too. I found out that there is a Robert Kamper who had a long and distinguished career as head of NIST, while I didn’t get my PhD. until 1993 at the ripe old age of over 40 something. (Couldn’t stand going to school more than 2-4 years at a time). I do think I have more US Patents than he does, though. But I think he is THE Robert Kamper, or at least the only famous and important one. And then there is a Robert Kamper who is a city manager in Sarasota Florida, which might come in handy if I ever go to that fair city…
You might want to start a group blog – Doppel-Nomen City….?