McEwan on Darwin, Einstein, and Priority

In the Guardian, Ian McEwan writes beautifully, as always, about the passion involved in scientific discovery, and the drive to establish priority. While it is a refrain among scientists that they are only interested in the work, and gaining a better understanding of nature, it would be hard to believe that, on a personal level, we don't care deeply about the recognition of our own contributions. McEwan illustrates this with two of the most revered and successful scientists - Darwin and Einstein. On realizing, surprisingly, his fear of being scooped by Wallace, Darwin wrote