Classic Cordilleran concepts: a view from California / Классическая теория в Кордильерах: взгляд из Калифорнии

Looking back over a century of geoscience research in the Cordillera is both an inspiring and a humbling exercise. So much has been learned that could not have been imagined in 1899! Other contributions to this volume discuss some of the classic papers in various fields that have led the way to fundamental new insights. In this opening chapter, I prefer to highlight the largely unsung but crucial contributions to the overall research effort that have been made by thousands of faces in the crowd laboring steadily outside the limelight to advance our understanding of Cordilleran geoscience. It is easy to forget that the pacesetting perceptions of the giants among us would be impossible without the information gained, day to day, by uncelebrated colleagues who work assiduously, by their own best lights, to dispel the scientific darkness bit by bit. In our admiration for intellectual leaders, we should always remember that science is the most supremely collegial and collaborative of all human endeavors. They also make their marks who never win an award, but must be content with the plaudits of their own consciences. <...>