3 ms·

"Medicine is like any other profession - it shouldn't be surprising that some doctors are better than others" Surely, some doctors are better than others, but

"Medicine is like any other profession - it shouldn't be surprising that some doctors are better than others" Surely, some doctors are better than others, but (for the sake of discussion :)) I don't think every professions or activities are equivalent with respect to 'rating'. Take the extreme example of walking. All human beings walk equally well. This is unlike playing music or solving math problems for instance. I'm certainly not saying that medicine is as easy as walking, but maybe for a wide range of health problems, there are well known standard procedures or solutions that all doctors are competent enough to follow. And in doubt, they usually refer their patient to a specialist, who in turn can send them to a more competent doctor.

robotresearcher 13y ago
"All human beings walk equally well." This is obviously not true.
- yodsanklai 13y ago
  I think you got my point. Usually, you don't stop looking at people in the street thinking how great is their walking. Walking is a simple enough task so that in normal conditions you don't see a wide range of abilities. Unlike swimming, playing music or cooking where even in normal condition you can see that some people are incredibly better han others. An other example that comes to mind are regular airline pilots: nobody wonders whether they are good or bad. We never have to worry that the pilot is unable to fly the plane.
  - robotresearcher 13y ago
    Sure, I get it. We call that idea "professional". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional I just didn't like the walking example since it's neither true nor analogous.
  - dmd 13y ago
    > nobody wonders whether they are good or bad Again, this is a terrible example. I'd say that a good third of passengers are wondering exactly that. (It's irrational to do so, but that's another story.)
    - graeham 13y ago
      And further, skilled pilots can be recognised by their landings, particularly in making soft ones in stormy conditions. Perhaps also in their customer service with witty commentary over the PA. Divergent, but any skill I can think of will have a distribution of abilities. Some of these skills have a threshold beyond which incremental improvement gives little benefit. Walking example: if you can walk 100m in one go, you are better off than someone who can walk 10m. Likewise, 1000m > 100m. Does 500km give any more benefit than 50km? Maybe, but probably only for extreme use-cases (maybe competitive extreme-distance walking? I'd rather drive!). Similarly with technique - if walking technique is horrible it matter for mobility and injury risk. Beyond a certain level, it probably matters less. And maybe walking extremely well is a visual-social signal, as a marker for someone who is in good shape? I'd read somewhere research done on dancing as a marker of fitness for attractiveness to the opposite sex.
CapitalistCartr 13y ago
You have nothing at stake with the walking of others. I have friends who are massage therapists. They notice the walking quality of others and what it means closely. When I see a doctor I personally have a lot at stake, which is why I do my homework.
Domenic_S 13y ago
What you call the person who graduated dead last in med school? "Doctor".

robotresearcher 13y ago

"All human beings walk equally well." This is obviously not true.

yodsanklai 13y ago
I think you got my point. Usually, you don't stop looking at people in the street thinking how great is their walking. Walking is a simple enough task so that in normal conditions you don't see a wide range of abilities. Unlike swimming, playing music or cooking where even in normal condition you can see that some people are incredibly better han others. An other example that comes to mind are regular airline pilots: nobody wonders whether they are good or bad. We never have to worry that the pilot is unable to fly the plane.
- robotresearcher 13y ago
  Sure, I get it. We call that idea "professional". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional I just didn't like the walking example since it's neither true nor analogous.
- dmd 13y ago
  > nobody wonders whether they are good or bad Again, this is a terrible example. I'd say that a good third of passengers are wondering exactly that. (It's irrational to do so, but that's another story.)
  - graeham 13y ago
    And further, skilled pilots can be recognised by their landings, particularly in making soft ones in stormy conditions. Perhaps also in their customer service with witty commentary over the PA. Divergent, but any skill I can think of will have a distribution of abilities. Some of these skills have a threshold beyond which incremental improvement gives little benefit. Walking example: if you can walk 100m in one go, you are better off than someone who can walk 10m. Likewise, 1000m > 100m. Does 500km give any more benefit than 50km? Maybe, but probably only for extreme use-cases (maybe competitive extreme-distance walking? I'd rather drive!). Similarly with technique - if walking technique is horrible it matter for mobility and injury risk. Beyond a certain level, it probably matters less. And maybe walking extremely well is a visual-social signal, as a marker for someone who is in good shape? I'd read somewhere research done on dancing as a marker of fitness for attractiveness to the opposite sex.

CapitalistCartr 13y ago

You have nothing at stake with the walking of others. I have friends who are massage therapists. They notice the walking quality of others and what it means closely. When I see a doctor I personally have a lot at stake, which is why I do my homework.

Domenic_S 13y ago

What you call the person who graduated dead last in med school? "Doctor".