Will we return to the days of chance meetings at scientific conferences?

Abstract

Many years ago, I waited behind a tall man at the coat check at a scientific congress. He handed in his coat, I left my jacket and then I suddenly I noticed his name tag. James M Tanner. This was before the word starstruck was invented, but I remember thinking 'Of course, that is somebody's name!'. But not just any name. As a paediatrician, I use the Tanner stages test named after him to grade a child's pubertal development. I had never really thought about it, but suddenly the person who invented the pubertal staging was standing in front of me, greeting me politely.