Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin

FOCUS WITHOUT SOLITUDE
WAYNE MADDISON
Professor and Canada Research Chair, Departments of Zoology and Botany, University of
British Columbia. David and Lucile Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering (1993−
98); Associate and Assistant Professor, University of Arizona (1990−2003); NSERC Postdoctoral
Fellow, University of California, Berkeley (1988−90); Ph.D., Harvard University
(1988); BSc Zoology, University of Toronto (1980). My research arose from a fascination
with the diversity of forms and behaviours of jumping spiders, which led to systematics,
which led to phylogenetic theory and computer programming. My work continues to be
both empirical, on spiders, and theoretical, on the use of phylogeny in evolutionary inference.
− Address: Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 6270 University
Blvd, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Looking back on this year at Wiko, my mind’s eye will see in the background Grunewald
in shadow; the M-19 inviting us to adventures on the Ku’damm; the mango-sharp glow of
stage lights as the hall hushes; voices of the past echoing off stone, glass and steel; my bicycle
bags nearly bursting on the return from our little MEMA shopping; the breath of the forest
filling our apartment; the Wiko restaurant dressed up for Thursday night; and my quiet
office. But the foreground will be filled with faces of people. A wondrous constellation of
personalities, histories, brilliances − when I close my eyes it is these stars that will shine.
Have I known these people only a year?
I had, stupidly, not expected that I would react this way. Back in our home institutions,
we live in what seems a constant crowd of people, meetings, deadlines, decisions. I often
crave solitude. And that, I thought, was what Wiko had to offer: solitude, a chance to focus.
arbeitsberichte 101