Harmony and beauty in medical research

Journal/Book: J Mol Cell Cardiol. 1987; 19: 1043-51.

Abstract: We too often report the results of biomedical research as if there were no people involved in producing those results. However, without physicians and PhD's there would be no medical research. Moreover, reference to the history of medicine and science reveals that very often the men and women who have created the most important medical breakthroughs and perceived the most significant facts of medicine have also been unusually talented in other disciplines as well: music, the arts, poetry and literature. I do not believe that this correlation of talents is an accident. Rather, I argue that the kind of medicine and science that a person accomplishes is a reflection of the personality and skills that the person brings to his or her work. Thus, those doctors who have been most sensitive to their culture, and most inventive in their everyday lives, have also been the most insightful and original in their work. Music, the arts, poetry, and literature actually contribute in essential ways to the training of eminent doctors, and influence the way in which they perceive medicine. I therefore argue that it is not enough that we do our utmost to push back the veils of ignorance in our clinics and laboratories: we must also begin to push back the veils of ignorance that surrounds the questions of who does the best biomedical research and why. We must recognize the intricate ways in which the who, the how, and the what of research are inextricably entwined.

Note: Department of Natural Science Michigan State University East Lansing 48824-1031.

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