Do you feel dumb every day (another point of view)

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dynx

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Hi,
I was wondering if it's common to feel like your classmates are complete idiots pretty much every day your first two years. I'm an M1, it's the end of February,and I feel smarter than everyone here. Actually, I feel a lot smarter. Does it get any better? My confidence is sky-rocketting and as much as I try to be humble, I feel like I'm perpetually surrounded by idiots. I study a lot but I don't feel like I work very hard at all (even less than in undergrad) and I'm wondering if it's me, or if this is a common feeling. Practically everyone in my med school class acts like they're not struggling--- no matter what the class average looks like and I think, maybe they should start struggling, because frankly, I'm embarassed for them. Any thoughts?
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dynx said:
Hi,
I was wondering if it's common to feel like your classmates are complete idiots pretty much every day your first two years. I'm an M1, it's the end of February,and I feel smarter than everyone here. Actually, I feel a lot smarter. Does it get any better? My confidence is sky-rocketting and as much as I try to be humble, I feel like I'm perpetually surrounded by idiots. I study a lot but I don't feel like I work very hard at all (even less than in undergrad) and I'm wondering if it's me, or if this is a common feeling. Practically everyone in my med school class acts like they're not struggling--- no matter what the class average looks like and I think, maybe they should start struggling, because frankly, I'm embarassed for them. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

douche.jpg
 
Biscuit799 said:
douche.jpg
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I sense you feel threatened by this thread. You must be one of those folks more comfortable in the other thread with a similar title. Anyone who can feel MY pain?
 
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i don't know if you'll get sympathy but i wanted to say i feel that way sometimes in undergrad bio classes(once in a while) and especially english classes/liberal arts classes. if only next year, i could feel as you do that its easier than undergrad, it'd be amazing.
 
dynx said:
..I'm an M1, it's the end of February,and I feel smarter than everyone here...
Click to expand...

dynx said:
... Anyone who can feel MY pain?
Click to expand...


No, but you really must be one hell of an M1 if you've already taken step1, step2 CK...

dynx said:
Again want to add a different perspective. I killed step 1, I took step 2 CK early to get it out of the way, killed it too. Its been brought up in almost every interview that they were impressed I wasn't scared to take it early and they were impressed with my score. Its not a deal maker or breaker, but PD's do notice that you were confident enough to take it, and it shows that your step 1 wasn't a fluke.
Click to expand...
 
If you feel smarter, you're not.
Seriously, you have no need to feel "pain".
You've got nothing to complain about.
 
dynx said:
Hi,
I was wondering if it's common to feel like your classmates are complete idiots pretty much every day your first two years. I'm an M1, it's the end of February,and I feel smarter than everyone here. Actually, I feel a lot smarter. Does it get any better? My confidence is sky-rocketting and as much as I try to be humble, I feel like I'm perpetually surrounded by idiots. I study a lot but I don't feel like I work very hard at all (even less than in undergrad) and I'm wondering if it's me, or if this is a common feeling. Practically everyone in my med school class acts like they're not struggling--- no matter what the class average looks like and I think, maybe they should start struggling, because frankly, I'm embarassed for them. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

You need to level the playing field. You have 2 options:
1) Persuade the dean to let you skip directly to third year.

2) Stop studying entirely. Rely on your innate genius and youthful energy to destroy every test that comes your way. Devote your newly-found spare time to fighting sinister ninjas that threaten the safety of your city.

Good luck! :)
 
dynx said:
Hi,
I was wondering if it's common to feel like your classmates are complete idiots pretty much every day your first two years. I'm an M1, it's the end of February,and I feel smarter than everyone here. Actually, I feel a lot smarter. Does it get any better? My confidence is sky-rocketting and as much as I try to be humble, I feel like I'm perpetually surrounded by idiots. I study a lot but I don't feel like I work very hard at all (even less than in undergrad) and I'm wondering if it's me, or if this is a common feeling. Practically everyone in my med school class acts like they're not struggling--- no matter what the class average looks like and I think, maybe they should start struggling, because frankly, I'm embarassed for them. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Oh my God people, hes kidding. At least he better be...
 
smq123 said:
Devote your newly-found spare time to fighting sinister ninjas that threaten the safety of your city.
Click to expand...

Hey, what did I ever do to you guys?
 
dynx said:
Hi,
I was wondering if it's common to feel like your classmates are complete idiots pretty much every day your first two years. I'm an M1, it's the end of February,and I feel smarter than everyone here. Actually, I feel a lot smarter. Does it get any better? My confidence is sky-rocketting and as much as I try to be humble, I feel like I'm perpetually surrounded by idiots. I study a lot but I don't feel like I work very hard at all (even less than in undergrad) and I'm wondering if it's me, or if this is a common feeling. Practically everyone in my med school class acts like they're not struggling--- no matter what the class average looks like and I think, maybe they should start struggling, because frankly, I'm embarassed for them. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

The fact that you feel confident about learning the material is great. The fact that you feel smarter than everyone else could pose problems that may take care of themselves (or, perhaps, that others might take care of for you). You might just be this way, and you wouldn't be the first to go through life like this.

If this feeling of superiority changes, I'm unsure how the change will play out. It could be a prank that your classmates play on you after you let your true feelings about them slip in an offhand remark. Or, it might be some intern/resident/attenting (maybe even an alpha dog RN) will treat you poorly and embarrass you in front of several people. Even still another possibility is that it will cause resentment in work or family relationships that will create issues that you wish you didn't have. Either way, let's see what happens.

On the other hand, maybe this is just a clever play / sarcasm on the fact that people who feel dumb might have aspirations or "needs" to feel like they are smarter than everyone else (and perhaps should feel content with being average in a smart group) ... that would be pretty funny and is certainly is throwing a lot of people off.
 
dynx said:
Hi,
I was wondering if it's common to feel like your classmates are complete idiots pretty much every day your first two years. I'm an M1, it's the end of February,and I feel smarter than everyone here. Actually, I feel a lot smarter. Does it get any better? My confidence is sky-rocketting and as much as I try to be humble, I feel like I'm perpetually surrounded by idiots. I study a lot but I don't feel like I work very hard at all (even less than in undergrad) and I'm wondering if it's me, or if this is a common feeling. Practically everyone in my med school class acts like they're not struggling--- no matter what the class average looks like and I think, maybe they should start struggling, because frankly, I'm embarassed for them. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

For a person with 2600 posts, you are one hell of a troll.
 
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For those of you who haven't been on SDN very long, occassionally a particularly dumb/irritating thread comes along. Sometimes a member decides to mock this thread by taking the original post, and changing just a few words around. This is obvious mockery. Different from trolling.

Calm down people . . .
 
coredump said:
No, but you really must be one hell of an M1 if you've already taken step1, step2 CK...
Click to expand...

:) caught me. I was having some copy and paste mockery fun. Should have changed the M1 I guess.

OncoCaP said:
people who feel dumb might have aspirations or "needs" to feel like they are smarter than everyone else (and perhaps should feel content with being average in a smart group) ... that would be pretty funny and is certainly is throwing a lot of people off.
Click to expand...

Thanks for getting it. How many "I was the best thing since sliced bread and now I'm having trouble in medical school" threads do we need? You're smart, stop fishing for compliments. You used to be a 8.9 on a scale from 1 to 10 now you're a 8.9 surrounded by 9.6s. You don't need strangers in an internet forum to convince you that you're smart.
 
dynx said:
:) caught me. I was having some copy and paste mockery fun. Should have changed the M1 I guess.



Thanks for getting it. How many "I was the best thing since sliced bread and now I'm having trouble in medical school" threads do we need? You're smart, stop fishing for compliments. You used to be a 8.9 on a scale from 1 to 10 now you're a 8.9 surrounded by 9.6s. You don't need strangers in an internet forum to convince you that you're smart.
Click to expand...

This would have been a lot easier to catch if I didn't personally know people who DO talk like this about medical school, graduate school, etc. ...
 
EBI831 said:
i don't know if you'll get sympathy but i wanted to say i feel that way sometimes in undergrad bio classes(once in a while) and especially english classes/liberal arts classes. if only next year, i could feel as you do that its easier than undergrad, it'd be amazing.
Click to expand...

wow, you might think you are smart but you are incredibly bad at picking up on sarcasm. dont be so full of yourself. :thumbdown:
 
When I don't catch a baseball it hits me in the face.

I don't think the same happens with failing to catch sarcasm, unfortunately...
 
I missed a softball in the outfield once... it knocked me over
 
Dakota said:
For those of you who haven't been on SDN very long, occassionally a particularly dumb/irritating thread comes along. Sometimes a member decides to mock this thread by taking the original post, and changing just a few words around. This is obvious mockery. Different from trolling.

Calm down people . . .
Click to expand...
those, my friends, are called parodies.
 
Dakota said:
For those of you who haven't been on SDN very long, occassionally a particularly dumb/irritating thread comes along. Sometimes a member decides to mock this thread by taking the original post, and changing just a few words around. This is obvious mockery. Different from trolling.

Calm down people . . .
Click to expand...

Yes, this thread is clearly mocking a similar thread in which a med student felt overwhelmed by material and is shocked at their perceived lack of understanding relative to their classmates. I just don't see what point mocking that thread serves. When you go to class everyday feeling like you've just been kicked in the balls, it's not fun. And SDN is a forum where one can post such med-school-related material. I guess my point is this: why was the thread being mocked dumb/irritating? It wasn't a pre-med invading and asking if their 3.8/32 was good enough, or if they should choose JHU or WU. It was completely within the context of an appropriate thread, and every one of us is free to not read that thread if they don't want to.

Please don't mistake this for offense or flaming, I'm presenting my viewpoint of the purpose of both of the threads.
 
Biscuit799 said:
Yes, this thread is clearly mocking a similar thread in which a med student felt overwhelmed by material and is shocked at their perceived lack of understanding relative to their classmates. I just don't see what point mocking that thread serves. When you go to class everyday feeling like you've just been kicked in the balls, it's not fun. And SDN is a forum where one can post such med-school-related material. I guess my point is this: why was the thread being mocked dumb/irritating? It wasn't a pre-med invading and asking if their 3.8/32 was good enough, or if they should choose JHU or WU. It was completely within the context of an appropriate thread, and every one of us is free to not read that thread if they don't want to.

Please don't mistake this for offense or flaming, I'm presenting my viewpoint of the purpose of both of the threads.
Click to expand...

Perhaps it wasn't the most irritating of its type. But there is a constant stream of threads where people are suprised that they aren't at the top of their med school class.

I am free to not read a thread but I am also free to mock a thread.
 
dynx said:
Perhaps it wasn't the most irritating of its type. But there is a constant stream of threads where people are suprised that they aren't at the top of their med school class.

I am free to not read a thread but I am also free to mock a thread.
Click to expand...

indeed, there is a stream of such threads, and indeed you're free to mock it. I just disagree with the decision to mock that particular thread. i'm not saying you're wrong for doing it, i'm just saying that, having experienced the feeling of being punched in the gut and being made to eat the following vomit by pathology, I don't think it was unreasonable to make such a thread. but hey, far be it from me to attempt to repress anyone's right to good clean (or preferably unclean) humor.
 
dynx said:
Perhaps it wasn't the most irritating of its type. But there is a constant stream of threads where people are suprised that they aren't at the top of their med school class.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this one.

There did seem to be a spate of threads along the lines you were mocking, and it was completely appropriate and necessary to make fun of them.

Other posters here have (rightly) pointed out that SDN is an appropriate forum to express worries/doubts/frustrations. But all too often this "emotional sharing" turns into self-perpetuating pity festivals. It is good to interject a little humor and reality to these discussions. Mocking threads, far from being "rude" or "thoughtless" or "cruel", are a reminder to the self-pitying that the real world isn't here to pet their head and tell them that they are special.
 
Tired said:
I'm with you on this one.

There did seem to be a spate of threads along the lines you were mocking, and it was completely appropriate and necessary to make fun of them.
Click to expand...

i think that's going a little overboard, but i appreciate the sentiment...
 
IckeyShuffle said:
wow, you might think you are smart but you are incredibly bad at picking up on sarcasm. dont be so full of yourself. :thumbdown:
Click to expand...

it wasn't exactly the most sarcastic sounding thread so excuse me for someone who hadn't seen the first one and if you'll notice i was not full of myself, i said there'd be no sympathy. i also said that its only once in a while that i feel smart in bio(this does not seem to be full of myself to me) and then i said in liberal arts/writing i feel smarter and i swear i'm not the only person who feels that after grueling premed classes the requirements of sociology and english and women studies and other liberal arts classes are a breeze. so don't be so full of yourself that you find the need to attack others through online message boards. but i will say my ego bruising was definitely intensified when i noticed you capped off your retort with a thumbs down sign. but hey no hard feelings.
 
dynx said:
I am free to not read a thread but I am also free to mock a thread.
Click to expand...

It's surprising the amount of people who don't understand this concept.
 
I vote that instead of comparing intelligence, med students should compare genitalia size. It would shut a lot of people up.
 
trust me, it catches up. You might be smart now, but come M3 and M4, everyone...even the smartest kid in the class has said or done some stupid crap. Even if you know the material fairly well, applying it can be another story. Medical school is more humbling as you go along.
 
Labslave said:
I vote that instead of comparing intelligence, med students should compare genitalia size. It would shut a lot of people up.
Click to expand...

Excellent idea. I think maybe the match should be run this way as well.
 
lilnoelle said:
ummmm, how would this work for females?
Click to expand...

I guess you gals would have to settle for bra size.

OR you could just have a beauty pageant for each specialty.
 
OncoCaP said:
For women we would have to settle for hat size or maybe shoe size comparisons. :D
Click to expand...

7 3/4ths. yeah i have a huge head. or size 9.5 feet. this is coming from a woman. or actually we could compare boob size i think it'd be more legit and on par with genitalia for men. in that case i'd be marginal pass.
 
So those of us that have had children would be at an unfair advantage concerning genitalia and breast-size, however at a disadvantage concerning quality. Hmmmmm.... you know, I don't think I'd mind if we picked residency by breastsize or by shoesize, being that I wear size 10 shoes. (NO I'M NOT GOING TO TELL MY BREASTSIZE ON AN INTERNET FORUM, I'M SHOCKED!!!):eek: :D
 
smq123 said:
For some reason, when I read "quantity," I thought you were referring to how many breasts a woman had. That brought up some weird mental pictures.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if I'm a residency director in a specialty ranking female students by breast size/quality, anyone who reminds me of that triple-breasted alien from Total Recall better be ready to scramble for a spot in some other program.
 
Well, selection based on reproductive organ size might be one way to increase URMs in our most competitive specialties ... maybe that could be used instead of the MCAT as well. (normally DropKick would post this kind of thing, but he seems to be absent from this forum)
 
what exactly do you mean by that?
 
Doc1Day said:
what exactly do you mean by that?
Click to expand...

Many URMs are beautiful / handsome / in great shape / physicially fit / physically blessed. They should do well with any anatomically based selection criteria (not that they don't already do well by other criteria such as academic).

Don't take this the wrong way. I like URMs. Let's just say that if it came down to anatomy (quality, size, strength, whatever), I have several URM friends and acquaintences who would beat me hands down. If you just look at classroom performance, I hold my own pretty well.
 
OncoCaP said:
Many URMs are beautiful / handsome / in great shape / physicially fit / physically blessed. They should do well with any anatomically based selection criteria (not that they don't already do well by other criteria such as academic).
Click to expand...

Well, I don't know anything about the anatomically based selection criteria, but I agree on the beauty thing. Especially mixed minorities.
 
I feel that way about certain individuals, particularly those who feel the need to ask mundane, obvoious, or completely unrelated questions in lecture and often lead to arguments with the prof about things that the rest of the class really couldnt give two ****s about. But no, I dont feel that way about my class as a whole.
 
lilnoelle said:
So those of us that have had children would be at an unfair advantage concerning genitalia and breast-size, however at a disadvantage concerning quality. Hmmmmm.... you know, I don't think I'd mind if we picked residency by breastsize or by shoesize, being that I wear size 10 shoes. (NO I'M NOT GOING TO TELL MY BREASTSIZE ON AN INTERNET FORUM, I'M SHOCKED!!!):eek: :D
Click to expand...

I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you for some proof that you have breasts. :)
 
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