Centrally Planned War on Cancer “Fails to Allow for Surprises”

(p. 115) It leaves the impression that all shots can be called from a national headquarters; that all, or nearly all, of the really important ideas are already in hand…. It fails to allow for the surprises which must surely lie ahead if we are really going to gain an understanding of cancer. –A COMMITTEE OF THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, ON THE NATIONAL CANCER ACT AND THE “WAR ON CANCER”

Source:
As quoted in Meyers, Morton A. Happy Accidents: Serendipity in Modern Medical Breakthroughs. New York: Arcade Publishing, 2007.
(Note: ellipsis in original.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *