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A colleague of the great scientist James Watson remarked that Watson was always "lounging around, arguing about problems instead of doing experiments." He concluded that "There is more than one way of doing good science." It was Watson's from of idleness, the scientist went on to say, that allowed him to solve "the greatest of all biological problems: the discovery of the structure of DNA." It is a point worthy remembering in a society overly concerned with efficiency.
Adapted from John C. Polanyi, "Understanding Discovery"
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<p>Assignment: Do people accomplish more when they are allowed to do things in their own way? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support our position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.</p>
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<p>People accomplish much more when they are allowed to do things in their own way. This is demonstrated in The Hobbit, Rosa Parks, and the Civil War.</p>
<p>In The Hobbit, by Tolkien, the main character is a small creature, a hobbit, named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo goes with a pack of dwarves to find treasure. On the journey, Bilbo encounters many obstacles, and it is due to Bilbo's ability to accomplish things his own way that Bilbo saved his group. For example, when Bilbo encounters a weird creature in a filthy cave who wants to eat him, Bilbo tries to talk with the slimy creature. Anyone else would have fled, but Bilbo kept his ground and eventually escaped the horrible creature, earning himself an invisibility ring in the process. Another example is the way Bilbo used his invisibility ring to defeat the dragon guarding his treasure. Instead of sneaking the treasure out of the dragon's lair while wearing his invisibility ring, Bilbo instead negotiates with the dragon while staying invisible. In the end, Bilbo was able to enrage the dragon enough to leave his lair, allowing Bilbo to successfully take the treasure.</p>
<p>Much like Bilbo Baggins, Rosa Parks also accomplished a lot by doing things in her own way. Instead of avoiding the white people who seemed so superior to her, Rosa Parks took action. Many blacks of her time would never do what Rosa Parks did, preferring to let the white people have their way and to let racism continue. Rosa Parks ignored her friends and boldly defied the orders of a white man on the bus; she refused to give up her bus seat simply because she was black and he was white. This led to her arrest, but emotions were so stirred up that people soon followed Rosa Park's footsteps, boycotting the bus, and eventually ending the ability of white people to take black people's seats on buses. </p>
<p>Another example of how people were able to accomplish more by doing things their own way was when General Grant of the North defeated the South. Instead of following the traditional way of war, Grant waged "total war" on the South, a tactic that allowed officers to oppose anyone who could possibly help the South. This tactic eventually won Grant the war.</p>
<p>As shown by Bilbo Baggins, Rosa Parks, and General Grant, people, indeed, accomplish more when they are allowed to do things in their own way. Imagine the world today if our past leaders hadn't done things in their own way.</p>
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<p>Thank you!</p>