Abstract
MEDICINE is so self-centred, and its practice is conducted so largely in private, that an international congress, where, men meet on a level, rub shoulders, and part again once in three or four years, is an excellent corrective. It serves the same function in the profession as is answered by a public school for the only son of wealthy parents. It is not so much what is taught as what is seen and heard. The knowledge which is obtained, by conversing with men brought up in different schools of thought, under various forms of civilisation, and often with wholly divergent ideals, is in itself remarkable, and is sufficient to start new trains of thought in many lines of research. In a great gathering like the International Congress of Medicine, where five or six thousand medical men are gathered together at fixed intervals, old friendships are cemeated, new ones are formed, and whilst the scientific reputation of some falls to the ground, others are exalted. The quack is taken at his true value, for his work, is judged by those who know the truth, whilst the humble and earnest worker in the difficult paths of research goes home strengthened by the encouragement which he has received from fellow toilers.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
The Sixteenth International Congress of Medicine. Nature 81, 369–370 (1909). https://doi.org/10.1038/081369a0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/081369a0