Some people believe cheating is a way of life. Business people, for instance, make stabbing a partner’s back a lewd act leading to success. Diplomats lie to their similars of other countries and thereby gain advantages. Salesmen promise the efficiency of their products, knowing that it is not so in the back of their minds. Lawyers offer to solve a judicial problem and have to carry on and on with costly and never-ending “alternatives”. And so on. Not everyone in their fields, of course, but indeed several.

Fish use camouflage in the ocean in order to trap the naive. Darwin’s theories of survival of the fittest have indeed changed human behavior. Evolved man has come to believe he should cheat on his species in order to gain an advantage. And to a point, it works. Surprise is usually a good weapon, particularly with underdeveloped minds. But these attitudes tend to forget a defense mechanism: Immunity. Bacteria know what we are talking about. Surprise them with a new antibiotic and temporarily wipe them out, yet not completely. A more robust breed arises, resistant to the previous antibiotic. Eliminating bacteria is practically impossible. They always come back. Sooner or later..... .

But why mention science? All through the years, I have read about respected and well-recognized scientists with extraordinary scientific results and beautiful data that was unquestionable. Eventually, they were discovered to be phonies. I recently learned of the story of discovering the missing link of evolution, published in National Geographic Magazine, which later turned out to be a history of scientific deceit, dishonesty, cheating, lying, hiding the truth, and so on. Well, I suppose they were applying the “rules” previously mentioned above. This brings us to the following conclusion: Science is about truth, and the truth is about reality. The opposite: hide facts, change data, cheat, lie, be unfaithful to colleagues, tell other colleagues not to invite a colleague to a meeting, promise and never keep your word, hide interesting data produced by others, or ignore them when deep inside you know you shouldn’t, is dishonesty. You will end up standing on a false floor. Mistakes are understandable and mendable, but cheating is unacceptable and unerasable. And believe me, even though the truth is relative and questionable at one point fixed in time, reality always surfaces, sooner or later. You can try to bury truth deep in the earth, but it will never be deep enough because truth in science is like an unsinkable buoy. Science is based on the rules of physics, unbendable, much less to one’s advantage.

And honor? Yes, a forgotten word in this 21st century. What has man retained from the teachings of Socrates? How have we evolved? What happened to the followers of Ralph Waldo Emerson? Honor is valueless, according to most. But like immunity, something also tends to be forgotten: conscience. Yes, conscience is that little angel between the ears, deep down in the gray matter of the human brain, yet like a hammer within. And it hits and does damage to the rest of the brain. And hence to the body. A self-destructive time bomb. Read history, and you will find innumerable examples: Darwin’s captain of the Beagle, for instance, fervently attacked Darwin’s theories because he felt left out, only to end his life by committing suicide. He could not cope with Darwin’s success. He felt his efforts to carry the Beagle around the world were the most important adventure feat. But could it compare with the origin of the species? Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables“ has a similar story. The police officer Javet that obsessively chased the innocent man Jean Valjean ends up also committing suicide.  

Gustavo R. Zubieta-Calleja (Jr.)
La Paz, April 10, 2002
 

to be given every two years to:

1) Chosen scientists from around the globe who are dedicated to scientific research at high altitude, promoting progress and research with truth and honor.

2) People that altruistically support maintaining the spirit of challenge in high altitude science.
  

Tatitana Serebrovskaya. (Ukraine) †
Principal Researcher, Doctor of Biology,
Academician of the International Academy of Sciences
Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology
Kiev, Ukraine
 
 

  Jack Reeves (USA) †
University of Colorado Medical Center
Colorado, USA

Michiro Nakashima (Japan)
Osakafu Saiseikai Izuo-Daini Hospital,
Academic Alpine Club of Tokio
Osaka, Japan
 

Andrew J. Pollard (UK)
University Lecturer in Infectious Diseases
and Honorary Consultant Paediatrician
Department of Paediatrics
University of Oxford
John Radcliffe Hospital
Oxford, UK

Pavel Beloshitsky (Ukraine) †
Chief of Elbrus Medical and Biological Station
First Deputy Director of the International Center
for Astronomical, Medical and Ecological
Investigations NAS of Ukranian and Russian AS
 

Ramón Garate (Spain)
Medico Montañista
Federación Vasca de Montaña
San Sebastian, España
 
 

Antchon Bandres (Spain)
Presidente
representando a la
Federación Vasca de Montaña
que patrocina la investigación científica de montaña
San Sebastian, España
 
 
 

You can contact us at zubieta@altitudeclinic.com