and if not, should he or she be annoyed? here's the story:
Fact #1: Raymond Damadian "invented" MRIWHY DR. DAMADIAN’S DISCOVERY IS THE KEY
TO ALL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
“The initial concept for the medical application of NMR, as it was then called, originated with the discovery by Raymond Damadian in 1971 that certain mouse tumours displayed elevated relaxation times compared with normal tissues in vitro. This exciting discovery opened the door for a complete new way of imaging the human body where the potential contrast between tissues and diseases was many times greater than that offered by X-ray technology and ultrasound.” MRI From Picture To Proton, McRobbie, Moore, Graves and Prince, (Cambridge University Press, 2003).
In 1970, Raymond Damadian, M.D., made the seminal discovery that started MRI, namely that there is a marked difference in T1 and T2 relaxation times between normal and abnormal tissues of the same type, as well as between different types of normal tissues.(Science, 1971)
http://www.fonar.com/discovery.htmFact #2: the nobel prize in medicine was awarded for the development of MRI this year, by Dr. Damadian was not an awardeereference - do a google search, you'll find plenty.
Hypothesis - Dr. Damadian was "overlooked" because he's a "creation nut":Knox, along with Reason magazine's Ronald Bailey, suggested another reason Damadian may have been disregarded: He's a devout Christian (see this 1997 profile in Christianity Today sister publication Christian Reader) who believes in creationism. In fact, he's on the Technical Advisory Board for the Institute for Creation Research, and on the reference board for Answers in Genesis's upcoming Creation Museum.
"He's identified by many web sites as a prominent creation scientist," Knox said. "I have no first-hand knowledge of his beliefs, but it's fair to say that most scientists are not creationists and tend to look askance at scientists who believe that way, but it's really impossible to know if the Nobel Committee took that into account."
Bailey similarly writes, "I have no inside information, but I wonder if the committee was swayed by the fact that Damadian, although a brilliant inventor, is apparently a creation science nut. In ironic contrast, Lauterbur's current research is on the chemical origins of life."
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/140/51.0.htmlAnalysis/discussion - if it's correct that Dr. Damadian was not given his share of the nobel prize because of his religious views, is that an outrage, or just desserts for clearly not having a clue?