Tradition as a path through the forest

Tradition is like a path through the forest that has been trodden by countless people before. Because it has been used successfully so many times, we can follow it confident in the knowledge that it leads towards a useful destination.

Tradition provides a consensus of opinion. There may be other paths to follow, but charting a new one takes considerably more time and effort.

A living inheritance

For a clinician, tradition is neither a fixed rulebook nor an ornamental history. It is a working inheritance: principles, observations and methods tested repeatedly in particular contexts.