Hooper, Judith 1949-

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HOOPER, Judith 1949-

PERSONAL: Born April 15, 1949, in San Francisco, CA; daughter of Roger Fellowes (an architect) and Patricia (a homemaker; maiden name, Bentley) Hooper; married Dick Teresi (a writer and editor), March 14, 1986; children: Jacob. Education: Smith College, A.B., 1971; University of California—Berkeley, M.A., 1976.

ADDRESSES: Home—320 Riverside Dr., Apt. 9A, New York, NY 10025. Agent—Barbara Lowenstein Associates, 250 West 57th St., New York, NY 10107.

CAREER: Writer. Omni (magazine), New York, NY, editor.

MEMBER: National Association of Science Writers.

WRITINGS:

(With husband, Dick Teresi) The Three-Pound Universe, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1986.

(With Dick Teresi) Would Buddha Wear a Walkman? A Catalogue of Revolutionary Tools for Higher Consciousness, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1990.

Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale: The Untold Story of Science and the Peppered Moth, Norton (New York, NY), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Judith Hooper has had a long career in the field of science writing, serving as a writer and editor for Omni for several years. She penned two books with her husband, Dick Teresi. The first, The Three-Pound Universe, saw print in 1986 and is an examination of the human brain. The second, Would Buddha Wear a Walkman? A Catalogue of Revolutionary Tools for Higher Consciousness, followed in 1990.

Hooper struck out on her own in writing 2002's Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale: The Untold Story of Science and the Peppered Moth. In this volume, she examines one of the most cherished illustrations of nineteenth century British scientist Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, that of the peppered moth's natural selection favoring dark mutations to match the dark treetrunks brought about by England's industrial revolution. Though the peppered moth's adaptation had been suggested by nineteenth-century British naturalists, there had been no scientific proof until a study conducted by Bernard Kettlewell under the direction of E. B. Ford in 1953. Hooper reveals that this pivotal study was deeply flawed, and has interviewed many of the scientists involved in debunking it, including Ted Sargent, a professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts. Of Moths and Men met with a positive reception from most critics, including Alison Motluk in Salon.com, who noted that Hooper "interviewed extensively for the book, read the correspondence between the major players, [and] even did some independent sleuthing." Speaking of the author's treatment of scientists involved in the peppered moth controversy, Paul Raeburn in the New York Times maintained that "Hooper shows us their failings, but with gentleness and respect, creating a moving and compassionate portrait of Ford, Kettlewell and the others in this decades-long drama." Anthony Day summed up Of Moths and Men in the Los Angeles Times as "an elegant introduction to the method of science and the ways of scientists." Similarly, Ross Leckie in the London Times concluded it to be "a salutary and fascinating tale."