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“A new idea is first condemned as ridiculous and then dismissed as trivial, until finally, it becomes what everybody knows.” —William James (1842-1910)1
Indeed, those creative individuals who advance the frontier of any subject are often, particularly in the initial stages of developing and sharing new paradigms, regarded with disdain by the mainstream authorities. Because the conventional establishment defends its ingrained ideas, the cutting edge of any discipline—science and medicine included—is aptly named and can be painful.
Having experienced firsthand the challenges of opposing the dominant paradigm in more than one instance in my professional life, I have particular regard for the editorial author in this issue. Gary Smith is a systems engineer and the founding director of Perses Biosystems Ltd. Gary has attended the Angiotensin Gordon Research Conference (Gordon Conferences arguably host the most cutting-edge and, therefore, frequently contentious arguments within a given scientific area) for the past 10 years and at each biennial meeting presents his heretical ideas about cancer and its relationship to the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Yes…surprisingly, discussions on the RAS from an engineer! Without a doubt, his work is greeted with skepticism by some. But I have noted an increasing number of PubMed citations relevant to this area over the past 10 years that could be related, in part, to Gary's persistence in passionately following this line of investigation. Gary's ideas, which exemplify thinking outside the box and tirelessly working to produce converts, are summarized in a both thoughtful and amusing article reflecting his experience in upturning the entrenched paradigm (on page 11). When I consider the top of the list of those who inspire me, I find an eclectic...