Many years (decades) ago in the pre-internet age when I used to go into book shops, on one visit to Blackwell’s science department in Oxford I suddenly saw a book by ‘me’ on cell biology; that was quasi-namesake-me. Because of this blog another quasi-namesake has contacted me, who has some of my interests in programming and music, though with a generational shift I guess of about -1.5 to -1.9. He has a well written blog: http://robertdyson.com/

The Robert who wrote on cell biology is www.gatewaywomensclinic.com/staff-dyson.php and has now delivered nearly 10,000 babies. Oddly there was a point when I thought I might switch to medicine and do obstetrics.

I wonder if names influence people. If we were to take cohorts of quasi-namesakes would we find unexpected correlations? I know that my given name is a real namesake and was chosen by my mother because in the 1930s she saw movies with the actor Robert Taylor and found him attractive.