By now you should realize that many of us utilize this forum in order to speak our minds in ways we cannot or would not in the real world, often dramatically and with great exageration. Heated discussions can be cathartic and enjoyable, and in an online forum, run very little risk of truly insulting or injuring another person. In my actual life, I would never say many of the things I have said on SDN, although I may occassionally think them. OncoCaP would never be deterred from a career in medicine by something that I (a total stranger) said to him in this forum. It should be clear from reading both of our posts that we are reasonably intelligent and confident individuals who use this forum for enjoyment and informational purposes only.
That being said, let me address two other issues from your post:
1) Yes, I do feel pretty self-assured. Those who pursue medicine should have a reasonable degree of confidence.
2) I have no interest in encouraging you, or anyone else, to pursue a career in medicine. Many individuals have no business pursuing it, although there seem to be an inordinate number who continually try, despite almost certain failure. If you have the desire and the academic credentials to go after medicine, you can have it. If not, you will fail, and all the better for the rest of the world. I do not want to see people with sub-par intelligence become physicians, because I do not want them to care for me or my family. And anyone who requires my "encouragement" to become a physician has no business applying to med school in the first place.
Thank you for your poor attempt to take me to task. May you fail in all your endeavors.
Tired!
🙂 You misunderstand me! I did not want to "take you to task!" Actually, I did apologize anyway, earlier, for the part of my post that sounded like I was some sort of hall-monitor--it did come across that way, at least it did in my opinion when I went back and reread it, so I apologize for that.
Now: in spite of your admonishing me to fail in all that I endeavor, you cannot make an enemy out of me or even someone who dislikes you b/c I have been throughout this Forum and when you're actually making an educated point and not just getting mad at someone, you're not only really helpful, your wit is actually quite funny. Someone mentioned in a previous post you might have made a great lawyer--now, there I can comment without feeling so ignorant because I went to law school, have experience there, and most of my family members either practice law or are in the legal field in some way. Therefore my
opinion in that regard is that if you could manage to get over taking people disagreeing w/ you personally, the combination of intelligence and humor and sometimes sarcasm you have frequently used to get your points across throughout this forum have made me actually laugh out loud; some were that clever. So why so grouchy?
Now, to address issues from your post:
Certainly you are correct. I did not mean to take away from you the purpose of this forum which is to express what you think. I was wrong in how I conveyed what I was trying to say. I didn't mean: "don't disagree." I didn't mean "don't be mean to him." What I did mean was that before ever even posting, you two were the people posting who, for quite awhile, had provided the most education for me in answers I was looking for, and it seemed (to not only me) that the disagreeing was starting to get, in places, pointlessly nasty instead, and I couldn't figure out why two obviously very intelligent people were wasting time on trivial personal "spatting" that is clearly beneath them when I have seen them write so intelligently, even when just casually, all over the place. I feel like the "pre-med (although I actually have made it to med school) w/ the Cheetos," and I think, "Oh god, when I finally do have some medical experience to back my basic intelligence up,
this is what's going to happen!?"
All I want is to finally be as confident in my medical knowledge as you have conveyed, and, if by some miracle in five seconds I suddenly was, I wouldn't even bother writing nasty sublines to people I clearly thought were idiots (like, you clearly thought I am. So why even waste time writing me back?) or who clearly had no point other than to argue--meaninglessly. I am not referring to normal debate. OF COURSE there are intelligent arguments. I just, after having read
a lot from both of you (one of you separately now), it was just my
opinion (which your own argument has justified me) that you had a lot better to do than catfight.
On your second point, I agree too. I'm not sure who you're referring to, but you are correct, what a sad physician I would be if your hope I fail in all my endeavors made me cry, log off, and withdraw from school first thing in the morning. Certainly you would have saved the world from a very unstable doctor. As far as there being those in existence who, for god's sake, should do everyone a life-saving favor and stop trying to be a doctor, well yep, I don't think anyone disagrees there either.
I simply don't feel
I have the experience, expertise, or background to be deciding who exactly those people are unless I am currently suing them for malpractice because they cut off the wrong leg--
I personally have nothing that would qualify me to make a judgment of that magnitude about the outcome of someone's entire life. Not now. I am glad that you are self-assured; perhaps someday I will be in a position to make the decisions that you do, perhaps not. I certainly am not right now. Which is why I would still say the "be careful." Not everything is either: completely about you; or, designed to personally cut you down if it contradicts a belief or judgment you have made.
I also was "talking" privately w/ a member you've argued with (not that
that narrows it down) and this member too actually only "spoke" about how intelligent you actually were, etc. etc. SO: You don't
have to defend who you are so much. You really don't have to be so defensive at all. Let the intelligence
you do legitimately have speak for itself...if you are indeed so self-assured, why explain yourself to "expected-failures-in-all-they-do?" You don't need to. I am only partially being sarcastic; I really do think you make your points much more efficiently when all the name-calling and being pissed-off isn't involved. And if you're going to
call someone stupid,
spell it right when you do it!
😎
Okay, get mad again at me if you want, but I think your honest-to-god talents would be truly better spent in endeavors other than wishing me failure. I do apologize, seriously, again for the areas in which I misrepresented my meaning.
Best,
E.A.
