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M y fortieth year had come and gone and I still throwing the javelin. —SamuelBeckett, “HornCameAlways” Playfulnessinscienceisanotionthatengagesme. Inrecruitingstudentsandfaculty,Iseekcreativ- ity,whichseemstometobeencodedbyadiffer- entgenethantheoneforintelligence—andan unlinkedgeneatthat.AsStevenConnorofthe LondonConsortiumhaswritten,playisaboutcreativity,anaestheticidea,andabout winningandlosing,anathleticidea. Creativitymeansmakingsomethingoutofnothing,oratleastverylittle(imagination), anditisreflectedinourperceivingsimilaritiesamongdisparatethings.Greatscientistsmake theseconnectionsfreely,welcomingthatintellectualtension,andtheyhaveagreatcapacity formetaphorandintuitivediscovery.Lookedatthisway,itwouldseemprofitableforgrant- ingagenciestospendasmuchtimethinkingaboutthe personoftheapplicantasabouthis orherproposal.Thehistoryofthepersonwhohadtheideashouldbeasinterestingasthe historyoftheidea. AprofileofRobertLangin The New YorkerthispastFebruarycapturesthisidea.Langis aphysicistandanorigamimaster—perhapsthiscountry’sleadingpractitionerofthatoldart. Hewasgivenanorigamibookatage6byateacherwhocouldnolongerkeepLanginterested inarithmeticbutwhoappreciatedthatpaperfoldinginvolvedprinciplesofmathaswellasof art.FromthattimethroughhisCaltechgraduatestudiesandtothepresent,Langhasfolded evermorecomplexstructures,nowinvolvinghundredsofsteps—makingsomethingoutof nothing.Hisstructuresinformnotonlybasicscience(moleculessuchasproteinsmustfold andunfoldinpredictableandcompactways),butalsoapplicationssuchasameshheartsup- portthatisimplantedinapatientwithheartfailureviaaverythincatheter;whenreleased fromthecatheter,itunfurlsproperlyandelegantlyaroundtheheart.OrigamiappealstoLang, andmanyothers,foritssimplicityandseeminglyendlesspossibilities. Nowaboutthesecondelementofplay—gamesandsports,winningandlosing.This involvesindividualcompetition.(Andwhowoulddenythatresearchishypercompetitive, especiallynow?)Thereiscompetitionintheexistentialsenseofilluminatingorfailingto illuminatenature.Winningorlosingasateam,whichcharacterizesmuchofcontemporary biomedicalresearch,isseriousbusiness.Evenso,bytheverydefinitionofplay,wearenot obligedtodothis.Itisfun,asscienceshouldbe.Weknow,however,thatchildrenwhohave noopportunitytoplayoftenhavecognitivedysfunction,andthatanimalsthatareespecially “playful”(e.g.,ravensandNorwayrats,asnotedbyKonradLorenz)havethegreatestlikeli- hoodofsurvivalinnewhabitats. Weseekthesetwoelementsofplay—aestheticandathletic—inourstudentsbecause,con- fidentintheirabilityto“thinkoutsidethebox,”theywillmakefinediagnosticians.Weseek thesequalitiesinourresearchersbecausemakingsomethingoutofnothingisarisk-taking strategyinvolvingwinningandlosing,andthat’swhatgreatscienceisabout.Thegreatest risk-takersinresearchareoftentheyoung,notconstrainedbydogma.Itisthatcohortin particularthatwemustprotectinatimeofgranting-agencyconservatism. PITTMED Dean’s Message Arthur S. Levine, MD Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences Dean, School of Medicine Publisher ArthurS.Levine,MD eDitor in chief EricaLloyd art Director ElenaGialamasCerri guest Managing eDitor SharonTregaskis senior eDitor ChuckStaresinic associate eDitor JoeMiksch ProDuction coorDinator ChuckDinsmore staff contributors EmilyKaram,MattMinczeski obituaries contributor MacyLevine,MD’43 circulation Manager CrystalKubic chief eDitorial aDvisor KennethS.McCartyJr.,MD,PhD eDitorial aDvisors PaulaDavis,MA SusanDunmire,MD’85,Res’88 JonathonErlen,PhD JoanHarvey,MD JohnHorn,PhD StevenKanter,MD JoanLakoski,PhD DavidLewis,MD MargaretC.McDonald,PhD RossMusgrave,MD’43 DavidPerlmutter,MD KevinProctor,Classof’09 GabrielSilverman,Classof’09 PeterStrick,PhD GerardVockley,MD,PhD SimonWatkins,PhD MarshallWebster,MD,Res’70 JuliusYoungner,ScD office of Public affairs RobertHill JohnD.Harvith,JD Pitt Med is published by the Office of the Dean and Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences in cooperation with the alumni and public affairs offices. It is produced quarterly for alumni, students, staff, faculty, and friends of the School of Medicine. pr 6188 The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution. © 2007, University of Pittsburgh 2 PITTMED Julia Marous straut

Dean’s Message PITTMED M · Jonathon Erlen, PhD Joan Harvey, MD John Horn, PhD Steven Kanter, MD Joan Lakoski, PhD David Lewis, MD Margaret C. McDonald, …

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Page 1: Dean’s Message PITTMED M · Jonathon Erlen, PhD Joan Harvey, MD John Horn, PhD Steven Kanter, MD Joan Lakoski, PhD David Lewis, MD Margaret C. McDonald, …

M�y fortieth year had come and gone and I still throwing the javelin.

� �—Samuel�Beckett,�� �“Horn�Came�Always”�

�Playfulness�in�science�is�a�notion�that�engages�me.�In�recruiting�students�and�faculty,�I�seek�creativ-ity,�which�seems�to�me�to�be�encoded�by�a�differ-ent�gene�than�the�one�for�intelligence—and�an�unlinked�gene�at�that.�As�Steven�Connor�of�the�London�Consortium�has�written,�play�is�about�creativity,�an�aesthetic�idea,�and�about��winning�and�losing,�an�athletic�idea.�

Creativity�means�making�something�out�of�nothing,�or�at�least�very�little�(imagination),�and�it�is�reflected�in�our�perceiving�similarities�among�disparate�things.�Great�scientists�make�these�connections�freely,�welcoming�that�intellectual�tension,�and�they�have�a�great�capacity�for�metaphor�and�intuitive�discovery.�Looked�at�this�way,�it�would�seem�profitable�for�grant-ing�agencies�to�spend�as�much�time�thinking�about�the�person�of�the�applicant�as�about�his�or�her�proposal.�The�history�of�the�person�who�had�the�idea�should�be�as�interesting�as�the�history�of�the�idea.�

A�profile�of�Robert�Lang�in�The New Yorker�this�past�February�captures�this�idea.�Lang�is�a�physicist�and�an�origami�master—perhaps�this�country’s�leading�practitioner�of�that�old�art.�He�was�given�an�origami�book�at�age�6�by�a�teacher�who�could�no�longer�keep�Lang�interested�in�arithmetic�but�who�appreciated�that�paper�folding�involved�principles�of�math�as�well�as�of�art.�From�that�time�through�his�Caltech�graduate�studies�and�to�the�present,�Lang�has�folded�ever�more�complex�structures,�now�involving�hundreds�of�steps—making�something�out�of�nothing.�His�structures�inform�not�only�basic�science�(molecules�such�as�proteins�must�fold�and�unfold�in�predictable�and�compact�ways),�but�also�applications�such�as�a�mesh�heart�sup-port�that�is�implanted�in�a�patient�with�heart�failure�via�a�very�thin�catheter;�when�released�from�the�catheter,�it�unfurls�properly�and�elegantly�around�the�heart.�Origami�appeals�to�Lang,�and�many�others,�for�its�simplicity�and�seemingly�endless�possibilities.

Now�about�the�second�element�of�play—games�and�sports,�winning�and�losing.�This�involves�individual�competition.�(And�who�would�deny�that�research�is�hypercompetitive,�especially�now?)�There�is�competition�in�the�existential�sense�of�illuminating�or�failing�to�illuminate�nature.�Winning�or�losing�as�a�team,�which�characterizes�much�of�contemporary�biomedical�research,�is�serious�business.�Even�so,�by�the�very�definition�of�play,�we�are�not�obliged�to�do�this.�It�is�fun,�as�science�should�be.�We�know,�however,�that�children�who�have�no�opportunity�to�play�often�have�cognitive�dysfunction,�and�that�animals�that�are�especially�“playful”�(e.g.,�ravens�and�Norway�rats,�as�noted�by�Konrad�Lorenz)�have�the�greatest�likeli-hood�of�survival�in�new�habitats.

We�seek�these�two�elements�of�play—aesthetic�and�athletic—in�our�students�because,�con-fident�in�their�ability�to�“think�outside�the�box,”�they�will�make�fine�diagnosticians.�We�seek�these�qualities�in�our�researchers�because�making�something�out�of�nothing�is�a�risk-taking�strategy�involving�winning�and�losing,�and�that’s�what�great�science�is�about.�The�greatest�risk-takers�in�research�are�often�the�young,�not�constrained�by�dogma.�It�is�that�cohort�in�particular�that�we�must�protect�in�a�time�of�granting-agency�conservatism.

P I T T M E D

D e a n ’ s M e s s a g e

Arthur S. Levine, MD

Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences

Dean, School of Medicine

P u b l i s h e r

Arthur�S.�Levine,�MD�

e D i t o r i n c h i e f

Erica�Lloyd�

a r t D i r e c t o r

Elena�Gialamas�Cerri�

g u e s t M a n a g i n g e D i t o r

Sharon�Tregaskis�

s e n i o r e D i t o r

Chuck�Staresinic�

a s s o c i a t e e D i t o r

Joe�Miksch�

P r o D u c t i o n c o o r D i n a t o r

Chuck�Dinsmore�

s t a f f c o n t r i b u t o r s

Emily�Karam,�Matt�Minczeski�

o b i t u a r i e s c o n t r i b u t o r

Macy�Levine,�MD�’43

c i r c u l a t i o n M a n a g e r

Crystal�Kubic�

c h i e f e D i t o r i a l a D v i s o r

Kenneth�S.�McCarty�Jr.,�MD,�PhD�

e D i t o r i a l a D v i s o r s

Paula�Davis,�MASusan�Dunmire,�MD�’85,�Res�’88

Jonathon�Erlen,�PhDJoan�Harvey,�MDJohn�Horn,�PhD

Steven�Kanter,�MDJoan�Lakoski,�PhDDavid�Lewis,�MD

Margaret�C.�McDonald,�PhDRoss�Musgrave,�MD�’43David�Perlmutter,�MD

Kevin�Proctor,�Class�of�’09Gabriel�Silverman,�Class�of�’09

Peter�Strick,�PhD�Gerard�Vockley,�MD,�PhD

Simon�Watkins,�PhD�Marshall�Webster,�MD,�Res�’70

Julius�Youngner,�ScD�

o f f i c e o f P u b l i c a f f a i r s

Robert�Hill�John�D.�Harvith,�JD

Pitt Med is published by the Office of the Dean and Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences in cooperation with the alumni

and public affairs offices. It is produced quarterly for alumni, students, staff, faculty, and friends of the School of Medicine. pr 6188

The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution. © 2007, University of Pittsburgh

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