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I have been told recently that ‘research’ and ‘question’ are the same term in Latin, quaestio (from the verb quaerere). I do not know your exact reason(s) for undertaking a career in biomechanical research, it may be curiosity, attitudes, jobs, offers, friends, or opportunities, but certainly, there is also the natural interest for searching to find reasonable answers to innate questions about our nature. We eventually want to understand the mechanisms of human motion and organ functions, together with the onset of relevant diseases and possibly relevant best interventions and treatments. Since my initial experiences, I got fascinated by the harmony of locomotion and by the clever features and the overall perfection of the human joints. At the same time, I got somehow disappointed by the difficulties in supporting and replacing these joints, i.e. any artificial replica works limitedly. It is like the search for inner secrets, the exploration of an unknown complex field, to finding the key to the door eventually. In other words, we ask the human body to unveil its enigmas. And the more we understand, the many more the questions are.

This search is sometimes frustrating, for the troubles in the experiments and the failures of possible theories and hypothesizes. But most of the time this work seems within an aura of attraction, because of the intriguing questions we have, of the appealing of initial observations, and of the challenging of some findings. It is just amazing, in my area for example, the way ligaments, cartilage, bone, muscle & tendon work together to guarantee the necessary mobility and stability at the human joints. And it is just beautiful to see how the asynchronous motion of legs results in a very smooth progression in locomotion. But we are not satisfied by knowing how, we also want to know why. Thus “Beauty is the splendor of Truth” it is not just a famous quote but may be the secret of our passion. And I believe this should affect our teaching and training: “The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” Plutarch.

Hopefully, our Congress in Fukuoka this year can contribute to this fire, by sharing passion and curiosity, with eagerness to learn from each other.

 

Alberto Leardini

ISB President