Albert-Szent-Gyorgi, Google, and the Meaning of Life

"In my hunt for the meaning of life, I started research in histology. Unsatisfied by the information cellular morphology could give me about life, I turned to physiology. Finding physiology too complex I took up pharmacology. Still finding the situation too complicated I turned to bacteriology.  But bacteria were even too complex, so I descended to the molecular level, studying chemistry and physical chemistry. After 20 years of work I was led to conclude that to understand life we have to descend to the electronic level, and the world of wave mechanics. But electrons are just electrons, and have no life at all. Evidently, on the way I lost life; it had run out between my fingers."

I first heard this quotation in college, and it stuck with me. The guy who said it, Albert Szent-Gyorgi, discovered vitamin C and won a few Nobel prizes, but you don't hear too much about him these days. That's why I was particularly happy to see him honored in the Google doodle today. It's his 118th Birthday. Thought it would be a good moment to drag out my old notebook...