Who is smarter - Derm or physicist?

BU Medical Sciences
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What's better, apple pie or cranberry juice?
 
Smartest to dumbest:

1: Physicist
2: Physicist's mistress
3: Physicist's pool boy
4: Hospital custodian
5: Dermatologist
 
Dermatologists are the beautiful geniuses of medicine.
 
kingfl said:
Is a physicist smarter than a dermatologist who is the epitome of modern medicine?

Discuss.
Click to expand...
Dermatologists aren't the epitome of medical doctors, which is why I assume you're trying to compare them to physicists...

Oh, and to answer your question, derm.
 
kingfl said:
Is a physicist smarter than a dermatologist who is the epitome of modern medicine?

Discuss.
Click to expand...

Clearly everyone misunderstood that you were referring not just to any dermatologist, but in fact to the particular dermatologist who happens to be the epitome of modern medicine. Obviously the smarter of the two would be this mystical and distinguished individual.

However, they are both outranked by his Imperial Majesty Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Emperor_Norton
 
In terms of reasoning I'd say the physicist. But in general I'd think the dermatologist has much more in the way of people skills, which is partway how they got into derm in the first place. They probably also killed step 1, but I'd imagine that's a different type of thinking than physics.
 
What happens when said dermatologist is actually moonlighting as a physicist?? What say you OP!?
 
physics -> x-ray, dna discovery, ct scan, mri, pet, rad onc, computational chem/medical chem, pacemaker, endoscopy, etc. you get the idea.
 
You can't be serious.

I think the panic I've seen in the eyes of med students at the mere mention of someone integrating something really should be a clue. To get through med school, you need to work hard. That's it. I consider myself average or below intelligence and I am doing just fine in med school. I would get rocked in a Physics PhD program. On the other hand, two of my friends who are going to grad school (one in math, one in physics) would rock med school, if they were actually interested in biology.
 
well.... the dermatologist was smart enough to not become a physicist so.......
 
Lokhtar said:
You can't be serious.

I think the panic I've seen in the eyes of med students at the mere mention of someone integrating something really should be a clue. To get through med school, you need to work hard. That's it. I consider myself average or below intelligence and I am doing just fine in med school. I would get rocked in a Physics PhD program. On the other hand, two of my friends who are going to grad school (one in math, one in physics) would rock med school, if they were actually interested in biology.
Click to expand...

if we are going to be serious about it:

It has been my experience that medical schools select a very high and very narrow scope of people in terms of work ethic and intelligence. Grad schools are much broader in their selection.

The absolute smartest people on earth are in graduate programs (or have graduated from them). However there is a slew of arr-***** in those programs as well who also make it through. The scope of selection (again, IMO) for graduate school encompasses the scope of medical school with many many more applicants falling short and still a good number who exceed the averages of medicine.
 
I agree with this to an extent.

Derm => High Step 1 score (if that is a measure of "smarts" but IMO it just means a lot of hardwork and luck). Better people skills... But these are traits to be that should be in all physicians of any specialty.
Physicist => abstract principles that I cannot fathom my mind around. I've found many to be difficult to relate with beyond academics while others are just amazing people.

Both are obviously "smart" in their respective fields but inaccurate comparisons in terms of what they actually do as well as their contributions to society.

Graduate programs ideally draw from a different pool of passionate applicants vs medical school applicants. The latter supposedly focuses on healing and maintaining health (in the ideal world) while the former is to expand on what we know and what we would like to know... Now I know some go into medicine for all different reasons together but that is a discussion for another thread.
 
Any time "smartest" is used as a superlative, it's a recipe for trouble and disaster.

However, name a dermatologist that's as world-renowned as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, etc.
 
LogicofMan said:
Any time "smartest" is used as a superlative, it's a recipe for trouble and disaster.

However, name a dermatologist that's as world-renowned as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, etc.
Click to expand...

That's a dangerous precedent you're setting.... go poll the people on the street and ask them who is "famouser" (probably the way you will have to say it ) : NDT or Paris Hilton
 
I wouldn't confuse any of the med school memorization and regurgitation for intelligence.
 
"Jonson is a dermatologist which is Greek for fake doctor."

dr_cox111.jpg
 
Which is smarter: SDN troll or CC troll?
 
physicist duh.....anyone can go to med school it's all about numbers if they try hard enough, not everyone can endure being a physicist and the material they cover. It's common sense.


The material needed from both fields differ greatly. A physicist can easily become a doc
 
A better comparison would be physicist vs radiation oncologist.

I'd still say physicist, though.
 
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qNmgzPhKycU/TuKpMapRhcI/AAAAAAAAAOg/JU1iTcgNY5I/s1600/******.jpg
 
Last edited:
The problem with using smart in a superlative way is that it's not one-dimensional like tall, taller, tallest.

I've never seen a good definition of what smart is, even after reading a lot of cognitive psychology - though I'll admit I'm nowhere near an expert. IQ is pretty much useless unless you're a (young) child. A 28-year-old who is as mentally developed as a 40-year-old... what does that even mean?
 
Or which career means more hard work, a physicist or dermatologist?
 
Each is smart in their own way. It's like comparing apples and oranges. There are good and bad apples, and good and bad oranges. Comparing the two doesn't make much sense.
 
Did a dermatologist just discover the higgs boson?
 
Verum said:
Did a dermatologist just discover the higgs boson?
Click to expand...

why yes, in fact. It was discovered during a routine mole removal.
there it is. It's on the internet, and you cant put it on the internet if it isnt true. Therefore it is true.
 
mourinho said:
Don't get me wrong though, I love physicists, they are the smartest people I know on average, somehow I don't like this clip; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5X64QCDVnI
Click to expand...

It's especially suspect at the end when he uses the fact that premeds disproportionately fail physics as evidence that doctors are stupid. I imagine that most actual med students did not fail physics.

As a PhysMatMan, I'm not a fan of NDT, and I don't know why anyone is. Then again, I hate BBT too.
 
mourinho said:
Don't get me wrong though, I love physicists, they are the smartest people I know on average, somehow I don't like this clip; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5X64QCDVnI
Click to expand...


I'm a fan of NDT, but I don't really like that clip either. There is a big difference in a senior pre-med student who is ready to apply to medical school and a freshman pre-med student who doesn't even know his way around campus yet. Those senior pre-meds probably did just fine in physics (or what have you) whereas many of those freshman likely struggled and ended up changing their major before the first year was over. I know lots of my friends I graduated high school with had high aspirations (medicine, dentistry, etc..) but most are now teachers.
 
I like Neil Tyson but his talk about doctors above put me off a little. I still like him tho.
 
SpecterGT260 said:
well.... the dermatologist was smart enough to not become a physicist so.......
Click to expand...

Triple-concentrated truth syrup right there...

Also, citing a quote from big bang theory (mega-paraphrasing): doctors are tradespeople, physicists are scientists. It truly is like comparing apple juice to cottage cheese, or whatever comparison people were using earlier in the thread.
 
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