Dr Livingstone, I presume?downloads.hindawi.com/journals/crj/1995/687920.pdf · I presume? It seems...
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EDITORIAL Dr Livingstone, I presume? I t see ms to me that physici:111s are much more likely than the membe rs of other professions to take on exploration or selfless se rvice in di st ant parts of the wor ld. l can think of at least a do zen phys icians who by their j ourneys h ave made me feel totally hid:.ing in imaginati on and the spir it of adven ture. Of chest physicians I have wo rked with, the om: who comes to mind most co lourf ully is Philip Hug h-J ones , who first describ ed T (for fomaica) diabet es and later c:mied out i maginative research into reg ional ve nt ilation-perfusion rela tionships. Even more imag inative were his regular expcditiuns to hea d- hun ting c oun try in the upper reaches of the Amaw n and in Bolivia, including one in which he was al one for several weeks . In sp ite of our bets to the contrary. he alway~ made it hack. complete with bush babi es and pois on dart blo wp ipes that effective ly got your attention. ii. you happened to be do1.i ng in the back row of the lecture theatre. This exa mp le is. I adm it, a little ex treme . but there are many other examples of physician ~ who have endured hardship and Ji scomfort in fo ll owing their bl iss to remot e parts of the wo rl d. A mong these mu st surely be listed Noe Za me l. whose C hristie Memorial Lecture appears in the first issue of ou r se cond volume (p 18). The thought that the island of Tris tan da C unha migh t be the pla ce to estab li sh a gen et ic basis for ast hma is a n example of Med a wa r·s principle that creat ive ima gination is a pr ime requiremen t for successful science. It nl'c ded more than imagination lo Gtrry out this study. howeve r. and it ne eds a readin g bet wee n the lin es of Noe Za mcl'\ typically un<l erslatcd account to gain an apprec iation of the comm itmen t and dedicati on that he and Pat McClcan showed in crn nplcling it so succ essfu lly . O f the island's pupulatiun of 301, co mp lete data were obt ained in 282 (94q ). We await the rl'su lh with consid erable interest, bearing in mind the recent disco very of the cystic fibrosis gene at the Research Ins! itutL' or The Hosp it al fur Sick Ch ildren in Toro nto. Med awar's view was that ··sL·icntific reasoning is an explorator y dialogue that can always be resolv ed into two voices or two episo des of th ough t, imaginative and cr itical. which alternate and interact". The imagination and explora ti on have taken pla ce : the criti ca l exa mination of the hypothesis is to come . but whether it is sup ported or refut ed, there can be no douht that the effort will have been worthwhile . Darwi n would certainly have app roved, eve n th ou gh he passed up the chancc to visit Tristan da Cunha on th e last leg or hi s fi ve-yea r voyage on the Be ag le. His secrets fo r success - '"a lo ve o r sc ic ncc, unb oun ded patience in long refl ect ing over any subject, industry in obse rving and co ll ecting facts. and a fair share of in vention as wl'll as of commo n sense". We may find the m all in Dr Za mel's story. 12 Nom11111 I. Jones MD /:'ditr 1r-i11 -Chie( Ca nadial! Respiratory Journal Can Res pir J Vol 2 No 1 Spring 1995
Transcript of Dr Livingstone, I presume?downloads.hindawi.com/journals/crj/1995/687920.pdf · I presume? It seems...
EDITORIAL
Dr Livingstone, I presume? I t seems to me that physici :111s are much more likely than the membe rs o f othe r
profess ions to take on exploration or se lfless service in di stant parts of the world. l can think o f at least a dozen physicians who by their j ourneys have made me feel totall y hid:.ing in imagination and the spirit of adventure. O f chest physic ians I have worked with, the om: who comes to mind most colourfull y is Phi lip Hugh-Jones, who first desc ribed T ( for fomaica) diabetes and later c:mied out imaginative research into reg ional vent ilation-perfusio n relationsh ips. Eve n more imaginat ive were his regu lar expcdi tiuns to head-hunting country in the uppe r reaches of the Amawn and in Boliv ia, including one in which he was alone for severa l weeks . In spite of our bets to the contrary. he a lway~ made it hack. complete with bush babies and poison dart blowp ipes that effectively got yo ur attention. ii. you happened to be do1.i ng in the back row of the lec ture theatre. This example is. I adm it, a little ex treme. but there are many other examples of phys ician~ who have endured hardsh ip and Ji scomfort in fo llowing their bl iss to remote parts of the world.
A mong these must surely be listed Noe Zame l. whose C hristie Memorial Lect ure appears in the first issue o f ou r second volume (p 18). The thought that the island of Tristan da C unha might be the place to estab li sh a genet ic basis for asthma is an example of Medawar·s princ iple that creat ive imag ination is a prime requ irement for success ful science. It nl'cded more than imagination lo Gtrry out this study. however. and it needs a reading between the lines of Noe Zamcl'\ typically un<lers latcd account to gain an apprec iation o f the commitment and dedication that he and Pat McC lcan showed in crn nplcling it so successfu lly . O f the island's pupulatiun of 301, complete data were obtained in 282 (94q ). We await the rl'su lh wit h considerable interest, bearing in mind the recent discovery of the cyst ic fib rosis gene at the Research Ins! itutL' or The Hospit al fur S ick Children in Toronto .
Medawar's view was that ··sL·icntific reasoning is an exploratory d ialogue that can a lways be resolved into two vo ices or two episodes o f thought, imagi native and critical. which alternate and interact" . T he imagi nat ion and explorati on have take n place : the c riti ca l examination of the hypothesis is to come. but whet he r it is supported or refuted, there can be no douht that the effort will have been worthwhile . Darwin would certainly have approved, even though he passed up the chancc to visi t Tristan da C un ha on the las t leg or hi s fi ve-year voyage on the Beagle. His secrets fo r success - '"a love o r sc ic ncc, unbounded patience in long reflecting over any su bject, industry in obse rving and co llect ing fac ts. and a fair share of in vention as wl'll as of common sense". We may find the m all in Dr Zame l' s story .
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Nom11111 I . Jones MD /:'ditr 1r-i11 -Chie(
Canadial! Resp iratory Journal
Can Respir J Vol 2 No 1 Spring 1995
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