GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--Mar. 23, 2004 -- Last fall an irate scientist took out full-page ads in the New York Times, Washington Post and Los Angeles Times protesting the fact he wasn't awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in Medicine.

     Dr. Raymond V. Damadian was denied the Nobel Prize for his contributions in developing and patenting the first magnetic resonance imaging machine (MRI) for scanning the human body, paving the way for medicine to "look inside" a person to detect a wide variety of problems.
     The award, however, went to two other doctors, Paul C. Lauterbur from the University of Illinois and Sir Peter Mansfield of the University of Nottingham in England.   Dr. Lauterbur received recognition for his work in developing the MRI scan.  In his research notes, he praises Dr. Damadian's work.
     The full page ads taken out in retaliation by Dr. Damadian against the Nobel Prize Committee showed a Nobel Medal standing upside down with the message under it:  "The shameful wrong that must be righted."
      The ads cost tens of thousands of dollars, but the funding of them came from a lawsuit filed by Dr. Damadian against General Electric for patent infringement.   GE manufactured MRI equipment and as a result of the lawsuit ended up paying Dr. Damadian $127 million in 1997.
       The story of Dr. Damadian can be viewed in a number of ways, from a scientist being slighted to revenge against authority.
       From a Vigilant point-of-view, I see the case as a matter of Terrorism.
       The Nobel Peace Prize creates wars among those who compete for them.    In the movie, The Prize, Paul Newman weaves in and out of the behind-the-scenes intrigue of winning a Nobel Prize.

       Dr. Damadian looked at the Nobel Prize decision to ignore his works in the same way one might view a bully on the street hitting some people and kissing others.    The small David in Dr. Damadian was unwilling to be Intimidated by the Goliath of the Nobel Committee.
       In the New York Times story today about Dr. Damadian receiving a "consolation" prize, the coveted Bower Award issued by the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, the article includes the fact that Dr. Damadian may have been passed over by the Nobel Committee because he is a staunch believer in "creational science."

        This belief system claims the world is only 6,000 years ago and everything was created in six days in accordance with the Bible.   Unfortunately, to prove that the Nobel Committee may have prejudiced their scientific kudos because of Dr. Damadian's religious advocacy is hard to prove since all documents regarding a Nobel Prize, including notes and discussions on candidates, are sealed for fifty years.
        In the sum of it all, however, is the willingness of Dr. Damadian to fight for his rights.
        Most disgruntled losers of Nobel Prizes slink into the shadows.  The Fear, Intimidation and Complacency of losing often takes a tremendous toll on the ego and psyche.   It isn't unlike thinking you're going to get a promotion only to find out the person who kissed up to the boss got it.

        But Damadian stood up.    He used Courage to overcome Fear, Conviction to surmount Intimidation and Right Actions for future generations to overpower Complacency.
        Nothing is more important in teaching the values of Vigilance to children than the lessons about how to stand up for yourself.    Winston Churchill said it best:  "Stand for Something Or Be Nothing!"

        In this case, Dr. Damadian was willing to put his Vigilance where most people let their Terrorism rule.   He stood up to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.    He told the King the King had no clothes!
         The question is, how many times do we surrender our Vigilance to acts of Terrorism?   How many times do we hang our heads in the face of Intimidation, or stuff our Courage in our back pockets and let Fear rule, or forget about setting an example for future generations and just swallow our pride and dignity in acts of Complacency?
         Standing up for what is right is not wrong.
         It is an act of Vigilance.

Mar 22--The Missing Link:  The Broad Vision Of Vigilance

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