Thoughts On Originality, Innovation and the Genesis of the Creative Idea

We are currently in the fifty-fifth volume of Neurosurgery and the twenty-fifth volume that I have had the enormous privilege of editing. Thousands of submitted manuscripts have been evaluated and hundreds eventually published in an effort to establish “veritas,” the fabric of modern neurosurgery, and the basis for our future. In contemplating the global picture there is no doubt that the fuel for progress and the expansion of our field lies in originality of thought and the genesis of creative notions, which are the principle desired hallmarks of every article appearing in our peer-reviewed journal.

Although elements of originality are frequently present, the innovative notion of true genius is a decidedly rare happening and individuals who serve as innovative catalysts even less frequently realized. Individuals such as Hippocrates, Galen, Descartes, Lister, Macewen, Horsley, Cushing, and Dandy have created enormous changes in the direction of medical thought and practice. Numerous other...