Friday, May 11, 2012

Margie Profet's Unfinished Symphony

Please see the May-June 2012 issue of Psychology Today

The Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Genius

Margie Profet sent shockwaves through academia by generating solutions to seemingly intractable puzzles of biology. Then she disappeared.

24 comments:

Melodie (Twedt) Hatfield said...: I'm worried to hear about Margie's disappearance. We were great friends in grade school, played together, delivered milk to the kindergarten classes (because we were "gifted" we were chosen to have a school job).

She was the one who told me about "the birds and the bees" and we did a play together with puppets we made, in our gifted program.

She's one of those people that leaves a "forever" impression on you, and I've been trying to find her for the last several years (since my separation, trying to connect with old friends).

In grade school, I remember her having the most amazing mind, her thoughts going in a million (focused) directions simultaneously, and having so much physical energy (and gymnastic skill) that she would literally be doing backflips and cartwheels while we talked and laughed about things. So interesting and fun to be with!

Thanks for your article and I will continue to hope she turns up again and is safe and well.; July 2, 2009 4:48 PM
Dr. Michael Jones said...: This is a beautiful piece on Profet.

It's on a par with the best science writing anywhere, but it's more than that.

It is science writing plus investigative journalism plus human interest.; July 2, 2009 4:50 PM
Barry Kuhle said...: Dear Mike Martin,

Thank you for a wonderfully written piece on the enigmatic Margie Profet.

Her three revolutionary papers have always fascinated me, and now her life, or lack thereof, does as well.

Cheers,
Barry Kuhle

--
Barry X. Kuhle
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
Dickinson College; July 2, 2009 4:51 PM
John Whitcombe said...: Hi Mike,

I read your article about Margie Profet; she was a close friend in high school and an incredibly special person.

Thanks.; July 2, 2009 4:52 PM
Anonymous said...: The description of Ms. Profet's symptoms fits better with schizoaffective disorder than other mental illnesses.

Her desire to improve her "math brain" could have been an attempt to fix the cognitive difficulties she was experiencing.

Isolation is a common symptom in this illness. She may have withdrawn so completely because she realized that her choices could be limited by the actions of others in try to protect her.

If only we did a better job of helping highly intelligent people who happen to have mental illness.

So sad...; July 2, 2009 4:53 PM
Anonymous said...: Sadly, one of the finest articles to appear in the news.

I was piqued because I thought music --and it was in a way. Margie Profet was a composer of original ideas, combining disparate but related ideas into a coherent, insightful whole.; July 2, 2009 4:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Poor woman. So promising, so creative, and so tortured from within.; July 2, 2009 4:56 PM
Russell said...: Thank you for your article about Margie Profet. I knew her well when she was in Munich.

Margie was a beautiful and wonderful person, but eccentric.

I’m glad that I knew her. I just hope she has found some peace, and that no harm has come to her. I appreciate your interest, and hope you can follow up and perhaps discover what has happened to her.

I never knew her to be reckless or careless where her personal safety was concerned, but if she has had some kind of a breakdown who knows what may have become of her.; July 2, 2009 4:59 PM
Harvey Mansfield said...: A very fine story, Mike. Thank you for this.; July 2, 2009 5:00 PM
Greg Lester said...: I just read the Margie Profet piece on Weekly Scientist and I’ve spent the last 20 minutes sending it to friends.

Thanks,

Greg

________________

Greg Lester
Director of Science Communications
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Philadelphia, PA 19111; July 2, 2009 5:02 PM
Bruce A. Bennett said...: Mike,

I just read your article, "Margie Profet's Unfinished Symphony" on Weekly Scientist and just had to tell you, wow, what a well-written story! Journalism at its best.

Nice job.

Regards,

Bruce A. Bennett
Editor
Tech Briefs Media Group; July 2, 2009 5:04 PM
Cynthia Torres said...: Thank you for this thoughtful piece on the remarkable, brilliant, and beautiful Margie Profet. Margie and I were college classmates and friends. She had launched an important academic career filled with promise and discovery. Her disappearance has been a source of immense sadness to her large circle of college friends.

I survived two pregnancies filled with morning sickness thanks to specific practical advice Margie gave me at a college reunion! I will always be grateful to her. She had the most dazling smile, and a beautiful, incomparable mind.; July 7, 2009 7:42 PM
Anonymous said...: So sad that the world, the society, is not prepared to care about "different people"! How I know that!
Hope she has found inside herself the PEACE she deserves.
Thank you for bringing up this incredible article.
E. Pereira / Portugal; July 8, 2009 10:15 AM
George Lake said...: I knew Margie well during her time at the University of Washington. I agree with what is said near the end of the article, she was very innovative but was accepted, even embraced, by the scientific community for all of her innovation and oddness. But, as the last election shows, people love "mavericks" (perhaps in that and Margie's case, not enough) and she was extremely sensitive to the mild criticism that her work (like anything innovative) was bound to draw together with the accolades.

I like that this article takes the optimistic view that she doesn't want to be found, implying that we will someday see her again. But, I can't see her living a backwoods hermetic life. I fear that she is gone and I will forever miss her.; July 9, 2009 4:13 AM
Mike Vangel said...: That's some really good writing (particularly the profet piece).; July 12, 2009 8:34 AM
Scott Wilson said...: I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your story about Margie Profet. What an incredible mind--hopefully she’ll be able to work through her issues and get back to working on her groundbreaking theories.

Amazing.

Keep up the good work.; July 12, 2009 8:35 AM
Axiom said...: I really appreciated the opportunity to learn about Margie Profet. Thanks!; July 12, 2009 8:36 AM
Ed Martin said...: Fascinating article.; July 12, 2009 8:37 AM
dorsey said...: Nice article why should Not try a write without a trace tv show. it is my favorite tv show. i download without a trace every season.; July 18, 2009 5:39 AM
Anonymous said...: Great article, but there is one thing I don't understand: Why is she a 'prodigal' prodigy? Was it time or brainpower that she was wasteful or extravagant with?; August 4, 2009 6:31 AM
George Lake said...: Happy Birthday Margie!; August 6, 2009 4:15 PM
Prodigal son said...: Prodigal prodigy: she had genius and fame in abundance. She was prodigiously brilliant. Some might say she wasted it, but that's a stretch. It sounds more like mental illness to me.; August 9, 2009 6:21 PM
Jane Cawthorne said...: Dear Mr. Martin,

I was reading your piece on Margie Profet. It was excellent.

I used to teach Women’s Studies and often talked to my students about Ms. Profet’s ideas and used her work as an example of how it is possible to re-frame the feminine as positive.

I have always found her work oddly compelling, and although it is not in my area of expertise, it has always stayed with me, almost haunted me.

I was recently informed by a colleague of her unusual disappearance.

More research brought me to your excellent piece, surely one of the best out there about her. It is an intriguing story.

I can’t help wondering if anything more has been learned in the intervening years since you wrote about her.

Thanks for this excellent piece.; March 21, 2011 7:28 AM
Michael P. Owen said...: Last weekend I attended GeekGirlCon in Seattle. During the
convention, I immediately thought who should be a guest at next
year's event: Margie Profet.

I met Margie in the summer of 1996. I was completing my two
undergraduate degrees at the University of Washington. I was very
nervous to enter the new University of Washington Physics and
Astronomy Building, but I took a deep breath and knocked on
Margie's door. I ended up having perhaps the most amazing
30-minute conversation in my life. Margie signed my copy of her
book and gave me a copy of her article from The Quarterly Journal
of Biology.

I was going to start a biochemistry doctorate program at Indiana
University in August. Margie recommended I contact Dr. Eugene
Weinburg, a professor emeritus who had fascinating ideas
regarding iron and bacterial infections.

I had to leave graduate school in January 1997 for very ill
health. I e-mailed Margie when I returned to my home in Spokane,
Washington. She wished me a speedy recovery.

I was able to move to the Seattle area in September 1998. I
contacted Dr. Bruce Ames around that time because Margie's UW
e-mail address was no longer functional. Dr. Ames gave me an
address that worked.

I was able to talk to Margie several times via e-mail from August
1999 to January 2000. The messages she wrote were well written
and full of her wonderful spirit. After January 2000, the e-mail
address no longer worked.

I discovered your blog discussion on Margie this evening. I
nearly collapsed into tears. Margie has been an enormous
inspiration to me.

A diagnostic method I developed for an infectious disease is
about to be published in a major journal. I have worked on the
project since 2004. Thinking of Margie's journey in biology kept
me working on my method in spite of many obstacles I have
encountered.

I still have my copy of her first book with her signature on my
bookshelf.

Thank you for writing about a scientist I considered as a special
friend. You are welcome to contact me.

Best wishes,

Michael P. Owen
Microbiologist
Bellevue, WA; October 15, 2011 2:11 PM

About Mike Martin

A former senior science writer for United Press International, Mike Martin has written articles for Science, The Scientist, Harvard Magazine, MIT's Technology Review, and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

His clients include the Epilepsy Foundation, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the California, Oregon, and Missouri university systems.

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Mike Martin's Weekly Scientist

Friday, May 11, 2012

Margie Profet's Unfinished Symphony

The Mysterious Case of the Vanishing Genius

24 comments:

SPECIAL REPORT: With Malice Aforethought

SPECIAL REPORT: Margie Profet's Unfinished Symphony

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