MOTOO KIMURA
James F. Crow
Motoo Kimura’s work can be divided into two parts. The first is development of
theoretical population genetics, especially stochastic processes. He was the first to
apply both Kolmogorov equations, forward and backward[Feller, 1950], to genetic
problems. In this and other ways he extended the work of the founders, R. A.
Fisher, J. B. S. Haldane, and Sewall Wright.
The second part of his life, starting in 1968, was devoted to the “neutral theory”.
From a study of molecular evolution he concluded that most such evolution is
driven by mutation and random drift rather than natural selection. This was
initially controversial and was widely criticized, but it has come to be recognized
as a part of population genetics theory, with wide applicability.
I shall discuss these two phases of his life, but initially I give a short biography
and finally a short account of Kimura, the man and his personality. He was my
student, colleague, and friend.
A note on pronunciation: The correct pronunciation of the second syllable of
Kimura’s given name is with a long vowel; in Japanese this is stretched out. He first
indicated this with a circumflex. Later, doubling the letter became popular, and he
spelled the name Motoo. Inevitably, in the United States it was mispronounced
Mo-TOO rather than Mo-TOE. Of course his friends soon learned better, but
throughout his life Kimura was constantly encountering mispronunciation of his
name.
1 A BRIEF BIOGRAPHYMotoo Kimura was born in Okazaki, Japan, on November 13, 1924. His father was
a metal worker, descending from a long line famous for large bells. He loved flowers
and imparted this love to his son. When Motoo was quite young his father gave
him a microscope and Motoo spent many happy hours with it. He particularly
liked plants and aspired to be a botanist.
During his childhood, an epidemic of food poisoning affected his whole family,
and one brother died. During his enforced absence from school, Motoo studied
his math texts, particularly Euclidean geometry. When he returned to school, his
teacher and classmates were astonished that he had done all the problems. The
teacher recognized his unusual ability and encouraged him to become a mathe-
matician, but his stronger interest was botany. At the time there seemed to be
no connection between mathematics and systematic botany — how different it is
today.
General editors: Dov M. Gabbay,
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Handbook of the Philosophy of Science. Philosophy of Biology
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