The rules and advice of D. Santiago Ramón y Cajal on research: an indispensable read for the novice researcher

Fernández-Vigo, J.Á.; Almorín-Fernández-Vigo, I.; Kudsieh., B.; Fernández-Vigo, J.I.

doi:10.1016/j.oftale.2023.07.005

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Badajoz, Spain" "etiqueta" => "b" "identificador" => "aff0010" ] 2 => array:3 [ "entidad" => "Servicio de Oftalmología, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain" "etiqueta" => "c" "identificador" => "aff0015" ] 3 => array:3 [ "entidad" => "Servicio de Oftalmología, Hospital Puerta de Hierro, Madrid, Spain" "etiqueta" => "d" "identificador" => "aff0020" ] ] "correspondencia" => array:1 [ 0 => array:3 [ "identificador" => "cor0005" "etiqueta" => "⁎" "correspondencia" => "Corresponding author." ] ] ] ] "titulosAlternativos" => array:1 [ "es" => array:1 [ "titulo" => "Las reglas y consejos de D. Santiago Ramón y Cajal sobre investigación. Una lectura indispensable para el investigador novel" ] ] "textoCompleto" => "Forty years ago, while preparing for a competitive examination, I read for the first time the book that had the greatest impact and influence on me, and which taught me the most in my entire professional and, probably, personal career. The book in question, whose title heads this scientific essay, was written on the occasion of Don Santiago Ramón y Cajal's admission to the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1897.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0005">1</a>Monographs, articles, editorials and texts on the principles of scientific research, philosophy of science and epistemology (theory of knowledge or how knowledge is acquired) abound in the References in various formats.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0010">2</a>But Don Santiago's oral and written dissertation addressed issues not covered in most of the References because he studied not only scientific methodology but also personal and professional aspects that must adorn a scientific researcher in order to be considered as such. These are not only formal questions but also questions of individual attitude towards research, a product of the experience of our most acclaimed and influential Nobel Prize winner in 1906.The work has been translated into numerous languages and very recently adapted into a beautiful Galician translation published by the University of Santiago.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0015">3</a>In an extraordinarily entertaining and fluid text, with a marvellous literary style, Don Santiago covers many aspects of research, enrichening them with his personal opinions and advice as well as his romantic vision of the discovery of knowledge.In this text we do not intend to highlight or emphasise the scientific contributions of the man who made the greatest contribution to the development of neuroscience in general and the retina in particular. The aim is to convey his teachings to young researchers in a pleasant and practical way, far removed from the thick conceptual jargon of philosophy and its arguments. There will not be many texts so didactic to start researching, more personal and with better contributions, even alluding to the mentality that should imbue a researcher or the qualities he or she should possess and develop, giving a superb vision of what we can consider the best and greatest task: to progress in knowledge, especially in the area of medicine.The methodological part has debatable aspects in the light of current knowledge due to the constant changes in the philosophy of science, but they serve as an introductory basis to the method. However, doubtlessly the most original and valuable in our opinion is the deciphering and definition of what a researcher should be and think, the definition of the mindset and personality that should characterise a researcher.Due to his enormous culture and wisdom, throughout the text he introduces and critically analyses the philosophers and scientists of history, introducing us in a very didactic way in this part of philosophy, quoting Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and later Descartes, Galileo, Newton, Bacon, Schopenhauer, Pasteur…His enormous cultural and philosophical background, his enormous culture, his critical readings, his analyses of the texts of other authors have been unjustly overshadowed by his impressive scientific contribution. Reading Cajal is astonishing for his vast wisdom. His scientific profile conceals his intellectual profile as a wise man who mastered all subjects. He quotes all the relevant philosophers and scientists from ancient Greek philosophy to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment period with the scientific revolutions.I keep repeating to myself every day a selection of phrases, advice and opinions that I learnt on my first reading.Probably one of his brilliant assertions is among the most quoted and influential in the world of medicine, psychology and, of course, neuroscience when he wrote: "every man can be a sculptor of his own brain".In this editorial we would like to extract some of his most brilliant phrases and concepts in order to try to induce the reader to delve deeper into this text.He criticises the great metaphysicians when he says: "the history of civilisation proves ad nauseam the sterility of metaphysics in its repeated efforts to divine the laws of nature".Round phrases such as "cerebral polarisation or chronic attention", confronting him with the encyclopaedism so highly valued in some social and cultural environments. His critical definition of the solitary researcher, whom he describes as "an intellectual fireball fallen from the sky that shone fleetingly, but was unable to transmit its ephemeral brilliance to anyone". The decisive phrase "passion for glory" in which he encourages excellence and patriotism. "The innate desire to feel the incomparable fruitions that the very act of discovery brings with it".There are two types of researchers, vocational and curricular. This text is especially addressed to the former, to those who consider that curiosity is the fundamental driver, the mother of intelligence, to all those who enjoy the intellectual effort of creating, to those who for ethical reasons apply themselves to increase the stock of knowledge in order to be useful to the community.Pure research is vocational and, in our modest opinion, should be included with the vocational professions which, as described by Dr. Gregorio Marañón, are those of the priest, the teacher and the doctor.<a class="elsevierStyleCrossRef" href="#bib0020">4</a>We believe that this text should be a reference in all centres where research is carried out, especially universities as well as public and private research centres, and in those of us who have the obligation to supervise doctoral theses, doctoral programmes and any research initiative. Creating this research spirit is key to the development of a high-level ophthalmology.This text also serves as a tribute to a group of enthusiastic young Spanish university ophthalmology researchers who in the 1980s wanted to give a boost to scientific research by bringing together a group that was later consolidated in the Spanish Society of Ophthalmology, with the fundamental support of the then Secretary General of the SEO, Professor García Sánchez, with the creation of the Research Communications Session, which still exists today and has become the natural habitat of all ophthalmology researchers in Spain.Conflict of interestThe authors declare they have no conflict of interest." 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ISSN: 2173-5794
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Archivos de la Sociedad Española de Oftalmología is the official journal of the Ophthalmology Society of Spain, that has over 4,000 members. It gives priority to the publication of basic, translational and clinic research including reviews, original articles, short communications, editorials, letters to the editor and clinic practice guides related to Ophthalmology and its subspecialties. A small section of the journal is reserved for the most relevant papers presented at the annual Congress of the Society. All manuscripts considered for publication are reviewed by expert examiner peers (double blind). The journal is published monthly and even though its official language is Spanish all articles are translated into English to increase the dissemination of scientific information. At present, Archivos is the only Spanish language Ophthalmology journal indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE in addition to other prestigious international databases such as Scopus.

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Vol. 99. Issue 1.