"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
In this quote by Albert Einstein, he reminds us that whilst logic is useful for practical solutions, the expansive nature of imagination breaks boundaries. It can lead to possibilities beyond what is already known.
The inspiration for this editorial came from hearing the song Imagination by Belouis Some playing on Absolute 80s radio whilst driving home from work. I remembered the song also featured in the ‘Vinyl Justice’ section of The Adam and Joe Show in 1997. In this segment, Adam and Joe dressed up as policemen and interrogated famous musicians about the dubious records in their collection. The singer Gary Numan was entertainingly asked to justify owning Belouis Some’s Imagination record. “Belouis Some, he’s a notorious criminal,” Adam informed him. “This is an extremely criminal record.” I must confess that I have some dodgy records in my own collection, including the theme song to Monkey Magic.
What struck me was that The Adam and Joe Show involved an enormous amount of creativity and imagination. This luxury is not usually available to those working in medicine, yet I like to imagine lying on a beach with a pina colada in my hand. For the most part, my working practice is guided by standard operating procedures and treatment algorithms – there is often little scope for using the imagination. However, it is known that imagination plays a significant role in wellbeing. It nurtures creativity and helps in stress management, contributing to a positive mental state and an improved quality of life. It therefore seems important to somehow try and incorporate imagination into our working lives.
In this international Eye News Oct/Nov 2025 there is plenty for your imagination to feast on. Loredana Smarandache reports on a voluntary cataract surgery experience in Morocco, while Evie Mensah provides an update on the Sickle Cell Retinopathy Network. Katie Curran explains how diabetes-related complications are addressed in Tanzania and Eswatini. There is also an excellent summary of the African Ophthalmology Council and how it is driving excellence in African eye health by Wanjiko Mathenge.
In the Trainees section, Adina Smith provides a snapshop of competition ratios and their effects on training, and Katherine McGinnity shares her international experience in Rwanda. For some light relief, Bogus Pete takes us on a journey to his latest Halloween nightmare with the ‘ABC Tragedies’. In our Culture Section, Rahila Bashir delights us with ‘Santorini Sunlight’. With the usual suspects including book and journal reviews, What’s Trending, and AI and Oculomics, there should be something to stimulate the mind.
I will sign off this editorial with another quote by Pablo Picasso: “Everything you can imagine is real.” Wherever possible, we should try and harness our imagination to bring about real changes to our working lives. This will hopefully bring untold benefits not only for ourselves but also our patients. I’m off now to peruse Eye News and dust off some of my dubious vinyl to try and energise my own imagination. – PC
