Loving to Innovating
This past week sucked a lot </3, writing this made it suck a lot less :)
Today, I found myself immersed in Siddhartha Mukherjee’s ‘The Song of the Cell’. Mukherjee, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author celebrated for his book ‘Emperor of All Maladies’ weaves narritives of medicine and science. While the book was an intriguing and informative read, one story that stuck with me was that of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek —often called “The Father of Microbiology”.
Get Trisha’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Born in Delft, Netherlands, in 1632, Leeuwenhoek faced hardships early in life, losing both his father and stepfather at a young age. He was sent to Amsterdam to become an apprentice to a linen draper later becoming a chamberlain at the sheriff’s office. He learned to grind lenses to make simple microscopes. His fascination was compounded with curiosity to examine the minute details of objects especially the quality of cloth in his work as a draper. Inspired by Robert Hooke’s (yes the Hooke’s Law) Micrographia, Leeuwenhoek began crafting microscopes, eventually achieving magnifications far beyond what others could at the time — up to 200 times. Leewenhoek had no fortune, formal education or training as a scientist. With his acute eyesight, steady hand, and mastery of lighting, Leeuwenhoek became the first to observe bacteria, protozoa, and other microscopic wonders. His findings changed our understanding of the microscopic world.
Another remarkable inventor, Dr. William Halsted, is attributed for introducing surgical gloves to medical practice. Dr. Halsted was the first chief of surgery of John Hopkins Hospital. He revolutionized many surgical procedures and the medical education at his hospital. Until late 1890’s surgery had an alarming mortality rate of 50%, the leading cause being infections. Carbolic acid was used to sterilize the surgical instruments which reduced the mortality rate to 15%. Dr. Halsted decided to use a combination of carbolic acid and mercuric chloride for his surgeries. Caroline Hampton, Halsted’s scrub nurse, developed painful contact dermatitis from handling instruments. Dr. Halsted could not bear to watch this and reached out to Goodyear Rubber Company to create a rubber glove that she could wear during surgery to protect her hands. The two married shortly after he presented her with two pairs of rubber gloves made to fit plaster casts of her hands.
Both these inventors are vastly different in their skills, fields, backgrounds and eras. However, they both have one thing in common — love. For Leeuwenhoek, it was a love for discovery and the unseen wonders of the natural world. For Halsted, it was love for another human being — a love that spurred innovation to alleviate pain. Love drove them to inventions that pretty much changed the world. They remind us that love is a powerful driver for human progress. Whether the love is for yourself, a parent, child, partner or your art — embracing that love gives us the strength to solve problems we once thought insurmountable. Here is to hoping that love in every way continues to fuel each one of us to innovate.
