“A detailed neurological examination is . . . a test of concentration and cooperation (even) in those in good health.... It may be necessary to conduct the examination in more than one session”. These are not quotations from Michael Donaghy’s attractive book but from a book on clinical methods published in 1968. Comparison of this with Donaghy’s book provides a clear demonstration of how clinical neurology, not just neuroscience, has advanced in the intervening 30 years. Generations of medical …