“Highly Qualified Loser”? Harvey Cushing and the Nobel Prize

Author:

Hansson Nils1,Schlich Thomas2

Affiliation:

1. University Medical Center, Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, Göttingen, Germany; and

2. McGill University, Department of Social Studies of Medicine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Neurosurgery, in particular surgery of the brain, was recognized as one of the most spectacular transgressions of the traditional limits of surgical work. With their audacious, technically demanding, laboratory-based, and highly promising new interventions, prominent neurosurgeons were primary candidates for the Nobel Prize. Accordingly, neurosurgical pioneers such as Victor Horsley and, in particular, Harvey Cushing continued to be nominated for the prize. However, only António Egas Moniz was eventually awarded the prestigious award in 1949 for the introduction of frontal lobotomy, an intervention that would no longer be prize-worthy from today's perspective. Horsley and Cushing, who were arguably the most important proponents of early neurosurgery, remained “highly qualified losers,” as such cases have been called. This paper examines the nominations, reviews, and discussions kept in the Nobel Archives to understand the reasons for this remarkable choice. At a more general level, the authors use the example of neurosurgery to explore the mechanisms of scientific recognition and what could be called the enacting of excellence in science and medicine.

Publisher

Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group (JNSPG)

Subject

Genetics,Animal Science and Zoology

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3