Why are pre-meds/med students so arrogant about being slightly intelligent?

[Disturbia]

I'm currently an undergraduate at the University of California and many of the pre-med students I've come across are horrendously arrogant. They make jokes about the business majors being stupid and the liberal arts majors wasting their time. They carry the most arrogant expressions and often treat other students as dirt. They always complain about how much time they have to spend studying for their courses and are sure to carry their organic chemistry textbook around in their hand rather than their backpack so everyone can see they're pre-med.

I'm not really sure how they've come to be so arrogant, though. If they were really intelligent, wouldn't they be aiming for a PhD in quantitative finance at Yale where they would set themselves up for a career on Wall Street? But of course, none of these mediocre students have nearly the quantitative skills to make it in high finance. These aren't kids with perfect SAT scores or photographic memories we're dealing with. These are you just your average joe-bloe biology majors who thinks that getting an A- in organic chemistry at podunk state university warrants a sense of superiority over everyone else. Does anyone else find this odd? After all, with over 140 med-schools in the country, getting into one really can't be all that difficult, so where does this sense of superiority come from?

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[487806]

I'm currently an undergraduate at the University of California and many of the pre-med students I've come across are horrendously arrogant. They make jokes about the business majors being stupid and the liberal arts majors wasting their time. They carry the most arrogant expressions and often treat other students as dirt. They always complain about how much time they have to spend studying for their courses and are sure to carry their organic chemistry textbook around in their hand rather than their backpack so everyone can see they're pre-med.

I'm not really sure how they've come to be so arrogant, though. If they were really intelligent, wouldn't they be aiming for a PhD in quantitative finance at Yale where they would set themselves up for a career on Wall Street? But of course, none of these mediocre students have nearly the quantitative skills to make it in high finance. These aren't kids with perfect SAT scores or photographic memories we're dealing with. These are you just your average joe-bloe biology majors who thinks that getting an A- in organic chemistry at podunk state university warrants a sense of superiority over everyone else. Does anyone else find this odd? After all, with over 140 med-schools in the country, getting into one really can't be all that difficult, so where does this sense of superiority come from?

For the most part, premeds who claim they're smart are actually very ignorant and get weeded out pretty fast. This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect.

 

[chillaxbro]

The pre-med curriculum isn't even hard
Most pre-meds are biology majors which require no thinking at all. It's just straight up memorization (a lot like medicine). A monkey can do that

 

[Hemorrage]

The pre-med curriculum isn't even hard
Most pre-meds are biology majors which require no thinking at all. It's just straight up memorization (a lot like medicine). A monkey can do that

right.

 

[911 Turbo]

I agree with OP, most premeds are stupid losers

 

[def1]

Did someone hurt your feelings?

Strange thing to vent about on a premed forum

 

[The Bunk]

I'm currently an undergraduate at the University of California and many of the pre-med students I've come across are horrendously arrogant. They make jokes about the business majors being stupid and the liberal arts majors wasting their time. They carry the most arrogant expressions and often treat other students as dirt. They always complain about how much time they have to spend studying for their courses and are sure to carry their organic chemistry textbook around in their hand rather than their backpack so everyone can see they're pre-med.

I'm not really sure how they've come to be so arrogant, though. If they were really intelligent, wouldn't they be aiming for a PhD in quantitative finance at Yale where they would set themselves up for a career on Wall Street? But of course, none of these mediocre students have nearly the quantitative skills to make it in high finance. These aren't kids with perfect SAT scores or photographic memories we're dealing with. These are you just your average joe-bloe biology majors who thinks that getting an A- in organic chemistry at podunk state university warrants a sense of superiority over everyone else. Does anyone else find this odd? After all, with over 140 med-schools in the country, getting into one really can't be all that difficult, so where does this sense of superiority come from?

Nothing good can come from this thread.

How do you figure that a "really intelligent" person would want to work on Wall Street?

 

[aesculapian]

I haven't lol'd like this all day. SO glad I clicked on this thread.

 

[DazeN11]

The Dunning-Kruger effect is where you realize how much you don't know as you gain more knowledge. It's not just being ignorant.

 

[PreMedRookie]

I'm currently an undergraduate at the University of California and many of the pre-med students I've come across are horrendously arrogant. They make jokes about the business majors being stupid and the liberal arts majors wasting their time. They carry the most arrogant expressions and often treat other students as dirt. They always complain about how much time they have to spend studying for their courses and are sure to carry their organic chemistry textbook around in their hand rather than their backpack so everyone can see they're pre-med.

I'm not really sure how they've come to be so arrogant, though. If they were really intelligent, wouldn't they be aiming for a PhD in quantitative finance at Yale where they would set themselves up for a career on Wall Street? But of course, none of these mediocre students have nearly the quantitative skills to make it in high finance. These aren't kids with perfect SAT scores or photographic memories we're dealing with. These are you just your average joe-bloe biology majors who thinks that getting an A- in organic chemistry at podunk state university warrants a sense of superiority over everyone else. Does anyone else find this odd? After all, with over 140 med-schools in the country, getting into one really can't be all that difficult, so where does this sense of superiority come from?

I was fine with your first paragraph but your second paragraph just shows that you don't know much about this topic. Personally, I would much rather be a physician than working on Wall Street. Career choice is not an indicator of intelligence (in this case and many others). Also it is definitely not easy to get into med school.

 

[The Bunk]

The Dunning-Kruger effect is where you realize how much you don't know as you gain more knowledge. It's not just being ignorant.

I thought it was the thing where less competent people are more likely to overestimate their own competence while the truly competent people underestimate themselves.

 

[cookiemonsters]

I was like this my first year of college. All those AP tests in high school made me feel like hot stuff lol. These are just normal transient feelings... they went away in me after a few years, and they will go away from these people you describe carrying their orgo textbooks.

 

[BlueLabel]

Many premeds are pretentious and extremely irritating, but I wouldn't call them dumb, particularly those that remain by about 3rd year. Excelling in upper level science coursework requires at least some academic chops. How you translate that to intelligence is a different story, but to be honest, I couldn't care less how "smart" someone is if they can't perform when it actually counts.

 

[pyrrion89]

I'm currently an undergraduate at the University of California

podunk state university

What University of California are we talking about here?

 

[yehhhboiii]

i don't see why you're hating on med students

 

[terrifiedcarrot]

A lot of science majors make fun of liberal arts people, it's not exclusive to premed students and I didn't know that arm carrying textbooks was so offensive. But yeah, it's true, you will run into ignorant and insensitive people in college.

 

[Helixkam]

alot of the arrogant ones will not make it through i think and also if your idea of an intelligent place to work is Wall Street then you may need to reevaluate your thinking a bit. Most pre meds and medical students I have met seem to be pretty nice people and the ones that are not there for the right reasons mostly dont finish all the classes it seems to me.

 

[Womb Raider]

You made an account on a pre-med forum just to whine about cocky pre-med students at your school?

God I don't even want to know what stunt you pulled if you've met any of the fraternity guys.

 

[Pipers]

Whoa, not all med students were "pre-med" students. Many of us did not have a science major. So you're experience with pre-meds at your school is limited to that, don't generalize to all med students.

Of course, this isn't to say that there aren't arrogant med students. Those people exist. But I just think they are arrogant people who happen to be med students. Not necessarily the other way around.

 

[puppyloomp]

What University of California are we talking about here?

Merced?

 

[BlueLabel]

You made an account on a pre-med forum just to whine about cocky pre-med students at your school?

God I don't even want to know what stunt you pulled if you've met any of the fraternity guys.

Dude he said he goes to a California school. I don't care if they have fraternities, that ain't Greek.

But yeah I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this was a well-calculated troll thread. 8.5/10

 

[The Bunk]

But yeah I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this was a well-calculated troll thread. 8.5/10

Yeah, exactly. OP just dropped by to shout "you guys are all stupid poop heads!" And then ran away. And of course everyone responded with, "Well, I'm not a stupid poop head, but you're right about everyone else."

 

[487806]

The Dunning-Kruger effect is where you realize how much you don't know as you gain more knowledge. It's not just being ignorant.

I thought it was the thing where less competent people are more likely to overestimate their own competence while the truly competent people underestimate themselves.

From wikipedia:

David Dunning and Justin Kruger of Cornell University conclude, "the miscalibration of the incompetent stems from an error about the self, whereas the miscalibration of the highly competent stems from an error about others"

Dunning and Kruger proposed that, for a given skill, incompetent people will:

1. tend to overestimate their own level of skill;
2. fail to recognize genuine skill in others;
3. fail to recognize the extremity of their inadequacy;
4. recognize and acknowledge their own previous lack of skill, if they are exposed to training for that skill.

The Bunk is correct, though I could see where Daze is getting at (Condition #4), but that's not what I meant when I said the term.

 

[Disturbia]

But yeah I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this was a well-calculated troll thread. 8.5/10

Not a troll thread, just a wake-up call. Notice how you defended yourself here:

Many premeds are pretentious and extremely irritating, but I wouldn't call them dumb, particularly those that remain by about 3rd year. Excelling in upper level science coursework requires at least some academic chops.

The fact that you feel the need to defend the intelligence of pre-meds shows that you, along with all medical students, regard yourself highly. Well, guess what, intelligent people aren't becoming radiologists. Intelligent people who only care about money go into quantitative roles in finance, and the ones that don't care about money are going into fields they're passionate about. Granted, that may be medicine, but more than likely it would be medical research.

If you think about it, doctors are really nothing more than mechanics for the human body. They simply regurgitate information that medical researchers discovered. Thousands of years from now, they could be replaced by robots. Researchers, though- the people that actually make a difference in the world and help people- could never be replaced.

 

[BlueLabel]

Not a troll thread, just a wake-up call. Notice how you defended yourself here:



The fact that you feel the need to defend the intelligence of pre-meds shows that you, along with all medical students, regard yourself highly. Well, guess what, intelligent people aren't becoming radiologists. Intelligent people who only care about money go into quantitative roles in finance, and the ones that don't care about money are going into fields they're passionate about. Granted, that may be medicine, but more than likely it would be medical research.

If you think about it, doctors are really nothing more than mechanics for the human body. They simply regurgitate information that medical researchers discovered. Thousands of years from now, they could be replaced by robots. Researchers, though- the people that actually make a difference in the world and help people- could never be replaced.

If you hadn't posted this, you might still have fooled a few people, but now it's obvious to everyone that you're trolling. A bridge too far, my friend.

 

[The Bunk]

The fact that you feel the need to defend the intelligence of pre-meds shows that you, along with all medical students, regard yourself highly. Well, guess what, intelligent people aren't becoming radiologists. Intelligent people who only care about money go into quantitative roles in finance, and the ones that don't care about money are going into fields they're passionate about. Granted, that may be medicine, but more than likely it would be medical research.

This is all really ridiculous.

 

[Womb Raider]

Not a troll thread, just a wake-up call. Notice how you defended yourself here:



The fact that you feel the need to defend the intelligence of pre-meds shows that you, along with all medical students, regard yourself highly. Well, guess what, intelligent people aren't becoming radiologists. Intelligent people who only care about money go into quantitative roles in finance, and the ones that don't care about money are going into fields they're passionate about. Granted, that may be medicine, but more than likely it would be medical research.

If you think about it, doctors are really nothing more than mechanics for the human body. They simply regurgitate information that medical researchers discovered. Thousands of years from now, they could be replaced by robots. Researchers, though- the people that actually make a difference in the world and help people- could never be replaced.

Naive. You're like the cocky 15 year old who thinks he's got the whole world figured out.

 

[KnuxNole]

LOL at using Wall Street as your first example for something highly intelligent. I'm assuming you are an eager person who wants to go into medicine. If you're not, then why waste 1 millisecond on this forum? :O

And you are right. People who make a difference in this world can't be replaced. Those people aren't in finance haha.

 

[Aerus]

Not a troll thread, just a wake-up call. Notice how you defended yourself here:



The fact that you feel the need to defend the intelligence of pre-meds shows that you, along with all medical students, regard yourself highly. Well, guess what, intelligent people aren't becoming radiologists. Intelligent people who only care about money go into quantitative roles in finance, and the ones that don't care about money are going into fields they're passionate about. Granted, that may be medicine, but more than likely it would be medical research.

If you think about it, doctors are really nothing more than mechanics for the human body. They simply regurgitate information that medical researchers discovered. Thousands of years from now, they could be replaced by robots. Researchers, though- the people that actually make a difference in the world and help people- could never be replaced.

According to your pre-dental title, you don't consider yourself intelligent either.

All joking aside, quantifying intelligence is useless, especially when trying to do so with "titles". There are people intelligent enough to win the nobel prize in biomedical research trying to pursue medicine. One's goals do not dictate one's intelligence.

Also, there are different kinds of intelligence. Let's see all these PhD scientist hold their own in a philosophy or sociology debate.

 

[487806]

Not a troll thread, just a wake-up call. Notice how you defended yourself here:



The fact that you feel the need to defend the intelligence of pre-meds shows that you, along with all medical students, regard yourself highly. Well, guess what, intelligent people aren't becoming radiologists. Intelligent people who only care about money go into quantitative roles in finance, and the ones that don't care about money are going into fields they're passionate about. Granted, that may be medicine, but more than likely it would be medical research.

If you think about it, doctors are really nothing more than mechanics for the human body. They simply regurgitate information that medical researchers discovered. Thousands of years from now, they could be replaced by robots. Researchers, though- the people that actually make a difference in the world and help people- could never be replaced.

Troll confirmed.

 

[Doudline]

LOL at using Wall Street as your first example for something highly intelligent. I'm assuming you are an eager person who wants to go into medicine. If you're not, then why waste 1 millisecond on this forum? :O

And you are right. People who make a difference in this world can't be replaced. Those people aren't in finance haha.

Are you for real now?

 

[The Bunk]

I know a lot of physicians who do clinical research. They must be only slightly intelligent and not contributing anything meaningful to society.

 

[La Presse]

Not a troll thread, just a wake-up call. Notice how you defended yourself here:



The fact that you feel the need to defend the intelligence of pre-meds shows that you, along with all medical students, regard yourself highly. Well, guess what, intelligent people aren't becoming radiologists. Intelligent people who only care about money go into quantitative roles in finance, and the ones that don't care about money are going into fields they're passionate about. Granted, that may be medicine, but more than likely it would be medical research.

If you think about it, doctors are really nothing more than mechanics for the human body. They simply regurgitate information that medical researchers discovered. Thousands of years from now, they could be replaced by robots. Researchers, though- the people that actually make a difference in the world and help people- could never be replaced.

Mechanics of the human body? You really are a dumb ass. Go troll somewhere else.

 

[mcloaf]

Not a troll thread, just a wake-up call. Notice how you defended yourself here:



The fact that you feel the need to defend the intelligence of pre-meds shows that you, along with all medical students, regard yourself highly. Well, guess what, intelligent people aren't becoming radiologists. Intelligent people who only care about money go into quantitative roles in finance, and the ones that don't care about money are going into fields they're passionate about. Granted, that may be medicine, but more than likely it would be medical research.

If you think about it, doctors are really nothing more than mechanics for the human body. They simply regurgitate information that medical researchers discovered. Thousands of years from now, they could be replaced by robots. Researchers, though- the people that actually make a difference in the world and help people- could never be replaced.

Maybe the attitudes you get from premed students have less to do with them being premed, and more with you being a...well, you sort of speak for yourself here.

 

[Disturbia]

Mechanics of the human body? You really are a dumb ass. Go troll somewhere else.

Forgive my absence. I had business to attend to. Anyways, now that I'm back I can prove my point.

Imagine a pediatric heart surgeon dies. Would hundreds of children die in the absence of his treatment? No, because another money-hungry, prestige-grubbing medical student would be lining up instantly to take his place.

Now imagine a medical researcher died the day before he discovered the cure for cancer. Hundreds of cancer patients would die because they would miss out on the treatment he had discovered. But none of you medical students are like this researcher. You're just another cog in the wheel, much like an assembly line worker or a janitor. You can be replaced in a second by any of the students scrambling to get into med-school. If you think you're making a difference in the world you're deluded.

 

[Ost3oclast]

Lol OP seeks out forum, creates account, creates thread, for what? Lol come on OP, you've got too much time on your hands. Med school ain't the hardest thing out there but to tell me a monkey could do this.....lol just take a break man. Lifes too good to get soooo wrapped up in something that doesn't really concern you anyway. Go live your life man!

 

[The Bunk]

Forgive my absence. I had business to attend to. Anyways, now that I'm back I can prove my point.

Imagine a pediatric heart surgeon dies. Would hundreds of children die in the absence of his treatment? No, because another money-hungry, prestige-grubbing medical student would be lining up instantly to take his place.

Now imagine a medical researcher died the day before he discovered the cure for cancer. Hundreds of cancer patients would die because they would miss out on the treatment he had discovered. But none of you medical students are like this researcher. You're just another cog in the wheel, much like an assembly line worker or a janitor. You can be replaced in a second by any of the students scrambling to get into med-school. If you think you're making a difference in the world you're deluded.

You know all of that says way more about your crap attitude than it does about doctors.

You talk about "making a difference in the world" as if the only thing worth doing is something huge and Nobel Prize worthy, but I think that's really immature. Medicine is about making a difference in people's lives one at a time. It's personal and it's necessary.

 

[Ost3oclast]

Medicine is about making a difference in people's lives one at a time. It's personal and it's necessary.

This is true. Its true about a lot of things as well.

I wanted to point something out. Lets say, for example, that all janitors had OP's attitude about how "meaningless" certain careers are. lets say ALL janitors decided that they made literally no difference in the world and quit working. Who would do their jobs? The fact is, every job has meaning. A CT surgeon, a school teacher, a financial advisor etc etc. serve a purpose that nobody else serves.

OP, I bet if you had a child that needed a heart transplant, and all pediatric heart surgeons "realized" that they didn't make any difference (consequently quitting) you'd be singing a different tune than the one you are now. You don't realize how important a certain skill or trade is until you need it. This doesn't just go for medicine. It goes for all professions.

 

[SunsFun]

Forgive my absence. I had business to attend to. Anyways, now that I'm back I can prove my point.

Imagine a pediatric heart surgeon dies. Would hundreds of children die in the absence of his treatment? No, because another money-hungry, prestige-grubbing medical student would be lining up instantly to take his place.

Now imagine a medical researcher died the day before he discovered the cure for cancer. Hundreds of cancer patients would die because they would miss out on the treatment he had discovered. But none of you medical students are like this researcher. You're just another cog in the wheel, much like an assembly line worker or a janitor. You can be replaced in a second by any of the students scrambling to get into med-school. If you think you're making a difference in the world you're deluded.

Your notion of how research works shows complete lack of any kind of exposure to it. Why are you posting about things you don't know anything about?

 

[487806]

Forgive my absence. I had business to attend to. Anyways, now that I'm back I can prove my point.

Imagine a pediatric heart surgeon dies. Would hundreds of children die in the absence of his treatment? No, because another money-hungry, prestige-grubbing medical student would be lining up instantly to take his place.

Now imagine a medical researcher died the day before he discovered the cure for cancer. Hundreds of cancer patients would die because they would miss out on the treatment he had discovered. But none of you medical students are like this researcher. You're just another cog in the wheel, much like an assembly line worker or a janitor. You can be replaced in a second by any of the students scrambling to get into med-school. If you think you're making a difference in the world you're deluded.

http://media.*****ail.net/images/stories/dg_pictures/0905/1386.jpg

 

[TheWeeIceMan]

Forgive my absence. I had business to attend to. Anyways, now that I'm back I can prove my point.

Imagine a pediatric heart surgeon dies. Would hundreds of children die in the absence of his treatment? No, because another money-hungry, prestige-grubbing medical student would be lining up instantly to take his place.

Now imagine a medical researcher died the day before he discovered the cure for cancer. Hundreds of cancer patients would die because they would miss out on the treatment he had discovered. But none of you medical students are like this researcher. You're just another cog in the wheel, much like an assembly line worker or a janitor. You can be replaced in a second by any of the students scrambling to get into med-school. If you think you're making a difference in the world you're deluded.

Actually, yes, kids would die considering you just replaced a pediatric heart surgeon with a medical student....

 

[487806]

Actually, yes, kids would die considering you just replaced a pediatric heart surgeon with a medical student....

Some medical students develop efficient surgical techniques in MS4. These types skip residency and are immediately licensed after graduation.

 

[Ost3oclast]

Some medical students develop efficient surgical techniques in MS4. These types skip residency and are immediately licensed after graduation.

I hear all if these types go to Hollywood Upstairs though....super prestige.

 

[ShySpliceosome]

Forgive my absence. I had business to attend to. Anyways, now that I'm back I can prove my point.

Imagine a pediatric heart surgeon dies. Would hundreds of children die in the absence of his treatment? No, because another money-hungry, prestige-grubbing medical student would be lining up instantly to take his place.

Now imagine a medical researcher died the day before he discovered the cure for cancer. Hundreds of cancer patients would die because they would miss out on the treatment he had discovered. But none of you medical students are like this researcher. You're just another cog in the wheel, much like an assembly line worker or a janitor. You can be replaced in a second by any of the students scrambling to get into med-school. If you think you're making a difference in the world you're deluded.

I don't know why you assume that all medical students are money-hungry and prestige-grubbing. 😕 And I'm not sure what you mean by "the cure" for cancer. Considering that cancer is not just one disease, but that there are over 100 different types of cancer, each with different characteristics, there couldn't be a "one-size-fits-all" cure for cancer. But if the researcher died the day before he discovered the cure for a specific type of cancer, he should have been keeping an appropriately-detailed lab notebook so that another researcher could read it and figure out what the first researcher was planning to do and try to pick up where he left off. I think that any worker in any profession can be quickly replaced, but that doesn't make that worker any less important.

 

[mcloaf]

Forgive my absence. I had business to attend to. Anyways, now that I'm back I can prove my point.

Imagine a pediatric heart surgeon dies. Would hundreds of children die in the absence of his treatment? No, because another money-hungry, prestige-grubbing medical student would be lining up instantly to take his place.

Now imagine a medical researcher died the day before he discovered the cure for cancer. Hundreds of cancer patients would die because they would miss out on the treatment he had discovered. But none of you medical students are like this researcher. You're just another cog in the wheel, much like an assembly line worker or a janitor. You can be replaced in a second by any of the students scrambling to get into med-school. If you think you're making a difference in the world you're deluded.

What is it that you do, exactly?

 

[Escape_Goat]

This thread is funny, only slightly though.

 

[Dbate]

I was fine with your first paragraph but your second paragraph just shows that you don't know much about this topic. Personally, I would much rather be a physician than working on Wall Street. Career choice is not an indicator of intelligence (in this case and many others). Also it is definitely not easy to get into med school.

This is so true. Those finance jobs are terrible. And i say this as a person in one of those type jobs, it is horrible.

Working until midnight (like I will be tonight) just to make rich people richer rots your soul. I can't wait to quit and go to med school.

 

[Ost3oclast]

What is it that you do, exactly?

Something where I'm sure somebody else could replace him....

 

[mehc012]

I've gotta say, I've personally always liked the 'mechanic of the human body' metaphor.
But then, I've always had a lot of respect for my mechanics. I fix my own car, and honestly, it involves a lot of the same curiosity and wanting to know how things work and interact and how to explain the problem that my more recent passion for medicine springs from.

As for the 'researcher vs surgeon dying' thing, L.O.friggin.L
The only researcher who isn't replaceable at the end of their project is one who didn't know how to keep a proper lab notebook...or communicate with their PI.
I'm exaggerating, of course, but research does not occur in a vacuum. It's not one dude furiously tinkering while writing in code and hiding his results from everyone until *voila! this fully formed paper just sprung forth!*

I enjoy troll posts...they get more action and end up on interesting tangents!

 

[Laryngophed]

This thread is just dripping with hubris. No wonder I feel so at home.