ABSTRACT
In the historical record of any field of human endeavor, being ‘‘first’’ is everything. It is often said that
‘‘hindsight is 20-20,’’ and it is tempting in many cases to ascribe this or that pivotal event as ‘‘obvious’’ or
‘‘easy’’ once the answer is known. Anyone intimately involved in a creative enterprise knows, however,
that it is never easy being first, and often requires more than a little luck and maneuvering. Thus the
triumphs of human creativity, the ‘‘firsts,’’ should be appropriately celebrated. Still, later chroniclers
often gloss over, and then eventually ignore, important (and sometimes very interesting) twists and
turns, starts and stops, of the winners as well as the second and third place finishers, who in the end may
in fact have influenced the paths of the winners, sometimes dramatically. The history of our field, for
instance, is replete with interesting competitive battles, unusual personalities and egos, no small amount
of luck, and various other fascinating historical nuances.
