by
Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor | August 01, 2012
From the August 2012 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
On June 5, literary legend Ray Bradbury passed away at 91. I've read a number of his books and short stories;
The Martian Chronicles,
The Illustrated Man and of course,
Fahrenheit 451. But on the day of his death, I read an article written by Jay Garmon that opened my eyes more to how interesting the man was. Garmon had the opportunity to see Bradbury speak at a convention a decade ago and although he admits he wasn't awestruck when Bradbury first stepped on the stage, by the end of the hour-long event that sentiment changed. The part of the article that stuck with me most however, mentioned how Bradbury was a staunch supporter of the U.S. space program and shared his thoughts on space travel with reporters and newscasters- who basically laughed at him.
It got me to thinking about how people are quick to judge things that are beyond their understanding or expertise. The history of medicine is chockfull of those stories of doctors, chemists and biologists being derided for theories that led to lifesaving cures or groundbreaking procedures (many we've covered in This Month in Medical History).
The point I'm getting at is that, in health care, like in any other profession, it's not unusual for some good ideas to be beaten down. It's also not unusual for bad ideas to slip through and later, when it's found that those ideas or practices are bad, the originator is often let off easy because by that point, the blame has spread to everyone else as well. So that's where we're still at with health care reform. I wonder though, if years from now, when it turns out it was a good idea (or bad) if those in the wrong will be decent enough to give credit to those who were right. I know, that's more a flight of fantasy than anything Bradbury ever wrote.
Oh, and one last note about Bradbury. Apparently, when Armstrong and Aldrin took their historic steps on the moon, reporters eagerly picked up calls from Bradbury expecting some insightful nugget to quote, but what he called them following "stupid son of" and before hanging up couldn't be printed in papers of the time.
Until next issue!
