Quote of the Month... December 2004

... Starting medical school was like entering a strong current that guided me steadily through a series of interlocking channels. I was never good at taking lecture notes or memorizing by rote, so, out of necessity, I developed a more intuitive method by reading all the texts and papers that I could find on a particular subject. In a way, this process was not unlike the popular Swedish sport orienteering, a game in which the participants are given a map and compass, and then race through the forest, navigating a triangular course. No trail exists, and, to succeed, you must be both a strong runner and a skilled navigator. I have always enjoyed this sport--the feeling of running alone through the pine forest, finding my way--much like the approach I have taken to solve scientific questions. ...

--Torsten N. Wiesel, in Brain and Visual Perception: The Story of a 25-Year Collaboration, Chapter 2