A conversation with great doctors

We stand on the shoulders of giants, but it can be an uncomfortable perch.

“This will help your cough,” I said firmly, summoning up all the authority of our ancient profession, of our eternal battle against superstition and ignorance, of titans like Harvey and Lister and Semmelweiss and Pasteur, and of the sacrifices they made often in the face of persecution and ridicule.⇑

“Simple linctus 10 mL qid,” I wrote, and the ghosts of the titans shrank back in disgust. Lister …