Isador Nabi was a pseudonym used by Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin (and perhaps others) in the early 1980s for satirical purposes. The two were able to have his biography listed in American Men of Science; to publish articles and letters in journals under his name; and to list him on the editorial board of Evolutionary Theory. The entomologist Edward O. Wilson complained to Nature magazine that Nabi was an invented character. This led to a number of subsequent pieces in the journal, including and a Nature editorial in the fall of 1981 stated that Nabi was the pen name of Richard Lewontin, Leigh van Valen, and Richard Levins.
Biography
Nabi was born in 1910 in La Paz, Bolivia. After a precocious stay in medical school, he received an M.D. in 1936. He went on to attend grammar and secondary schools, finally receiving a Ph.D. at the Cochabamba University. For a period he resided in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well as Caracas, Venezuela, where he headed the local affiliate of what was then called Esso Oil. He also was a practicing brain surgeon and editor of the revolutionary journal El Fomento. Despite his multi-tasking, he managed to publish a number of articles and addresses in population biology, evolution and ecology.
Works
He has written on sociobiology, delivering the First Annual Piltdown Lecture on Man and Nature. That article appeared under the heading "Advances in Sociobiopsy", and the author was noted as a "Satirical Commentator". He has also written articles critical of the systems-theoretical approach to mathematical ecology, as illustrated by what our laws of motion in physics would look like if early physicists had used the methods of the systems ecologists (this time listing the author as "Intrepid Investigator").
Further reading
- Isador Nabi. "An Evolutionary Interpretation of the English Sonnet" (First Annual Piltdown Lecture on Man and Nature). Science and Nature. no. 3, 1980, pp. 70-74.
- —. "On the Tendencies of Motion," Science and Nature. no. 4, 1981, pp. 62-66. republished in Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin, The Dialectical Biologist. Cambridge, MA: 1985, 123-127. (ISBN 0-674-20283-X)
- —. "Ethics of Genes." Nature, v. 290 p. 183. March 19, 1981.
- —. "The Nabi Newsletter: For the Investor Ahead of the Mob (Humor)". Gene Watch, vol. 15, no. 1, Jan., 2002.
- E. O. Wilson. "Who is Nabi?" Nature. v. 290 p. 623. April 23, 1981.
- Richard Lewontin. "Credit due to Nabi." Nature. v. 291 p. 608. May 29, 1981.
- Editorial, "Isadore Nabi, RIP." Nature. v. 293 p. 2. September 3, 1981.
- Richard Lester (Richard Levins). "Naming Names." Nature. v. 293 p. 696. October 29, 1981.
