VDH speaks to Techie Advances

I don’t have an I phone or a new jazzy I pad.
I also understand the concepts of inductive and deductive reasoning and somewhat less well discussed but frequently used method of abductive reasoning (inference of the best possible explanation by means of incomplete evidence).
In fact I do believe I have a very good tool in abductive reasoning that is too much neglected–there are many uncertainties in life and scientific inquiry. We cannot be present to confirm every piece of evidence we might consider important to prove up an hypothesis.
But I digress. Here Victor discusses the problem of knowledge versus wisdom.
Yesterday another old doc and I, faculty for a residency that is supposed to teach new docs old tricks (think about that a minute).
We were ruminating on how we can teach the art of medicine–in fact–what is the art of being a good diagnostician/therapist/procedurist. What are the magic secrets and tricks and mental strategies that should be taught? How can we short cut to wisdom?
Is an I pad a way to wisdom or a way to the illusion of smarts?
Is there a shortcut to competence and mature wisdom?
We’ll get back to you on that one.
Here’s Victor:
http://www.nationalreview.com/node/373725/print

Camille Paglia and the Elitist Applecart

All you students of the modern culture and soft or hard science should have Camille on your radar.
She doesn’t pull punches and is erudite to an extreme degree in anthropological/cultural studies of modern society.
Continue reading Camille Paglia and the Elitist Applecart

More on Core

Core Curriculum has been a subject here recently, since JunkScience.com aficionados are naturally inclined to pedagogical matters.
Even as diagnosticians or analysts junkscience devotees are obligated to consider, for example, the vectors and etiologies of the ignorance that create and allow junk science.
If junk science is the product of corruption and ignorance–we probably should be concerned about primary, secondary and higher education curricula.
Continue reading More on Core