Though the salmon's homing instincts are indeed remarkable, it is their ability to swim upstream that is most captivating. Up rapids and against strong currents, they manage to swim for great distances to their spawning grounds.

The Salmon have their human counterparts.

(1) Galileo swam up stream when he declared that the earth revolved around the sun, against popular belief.

(2) Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis swam upstream against the common practice of doctors refusing to wash their hands when performing operations. They wanted people to see them with blood on their clothing as a "badge" of how important they were. As a result most of the patients died from infection. Semmelweis endured great persecution when he insisted doctors should disinfect their hands and wear clean garments.*

(3) James Herschel swam upstream when he tried to interest authorities in fingerprinting offenders as a means of identification. At that time, a system of body measurements was being used for identification purposes. Herschel began his studies into fingerprinting in 1858. It was not till 1903 in the United States that fingerprinting was proved more effective.**

The path of progress is not always easy. Often it requires men and women with salmon-like qualities to swim against the tide.

(*When Science Fails by John Hudson Tiner - ISBN 1-56265-005-X pp. 31-36)

(** Ibid pp.53-61)