World-changing
In addition to my Nobel tossing, I had other sensations while at the obesity conference at Bainbridge Island last weekend that I was participating in a world-changing event. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if people point back to this even as a turning point, even 20 years on.
Part of my wonderment owes to my being within the circle for the first time, but it’s true that many of those who attended in Washington also attended the Brownell/Gold-hosted obesity meeting in New Haven in 2007, so perhaps it wasn’t as thrilling to them.
But often, of course, what is actually world-changing isn’t visible on the front end, and doesn’t arise from a scheduled event, no matter how special it is. That was clarified for me even before I stepped onto the plane on the way back, when I saw smatterings of face masks in Seattle, and still in Minneapolis, where I changed planes. The swine flu outbreak continues to widen, and who knows whether it will be world-changing, but it may be.
In that case, of course, the conference will end up being a footnote to what really broke that dark weekend, oh those many years ago.
May 1st, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Whether the conference turns out to change the world depends on how we follow up. I’m looking forward to maintaining contact with the researchers and practitioners so we avoid the fragmented research characteristic of tobacco research. Good luck world!