Friday, June 11, 2010

Erik Moberg (1905-1993)

Erik Moberg was, to say the least, a unique person and a one of a kind personality with a multifold of skills. His contributions in the field of hand surgery and particularly tetraplegia hand surgery are well documented and well known. His never-ending curiosity and willingness to learn and relearn in the broadest aspect of life are assets that need to be emphasized and hopefully followed by younger colleagues. Erik was a true academic and a role model for people striving for perfection regardless of topic. He joined discussions, often with strong opinions, but with a good mood and open mind. He delivered numerous memorable lectures that always took the audience further than expected by provoking the listener to become active and thoughtful. He was not afraid of challenging the so-called state-of–the-art and he kept stressing that state-of–the-art is a dynamic process that we are all involved in. In other words, the interaction between experts on a regular basis was fundamental for development. In this intensive process of communication, Erik stressed the need for collecting information not only from experts but also from patients and laymen because they may present, directly or indirectly, the key to a major scientific break-through.