Halifax, West Yorkshire

Mill town in West Yorkshire, England. In Range it is where the young Oliver Smithies watched starch set, a memory that later led to gel electrophoresis.

At a glance

SourceAuthorRoleIn one line
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized WorldDavid EpsteinbackdropAs a boy, Smithies noticed hot starch congealing into a jelly while helping his mother starch shirts, a memory that decades later solved…

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Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World — David Epstein (2019)

Source: Range · Original · Readwise highlight

Smithies grew up in the town of Halifax in England, and would watch his mother starch his father’s work shirts to make the collars firm.

  • Role: backdrop
  • In the book: As a boy, Smithies noticed hot starch congealing into a jelly while helping his mother starch shirts, a memory that decades later solved the gel problem.
  • Why it matters: Source of the childhood memory behind the lateral-thinking story; the town is named only in passing.