Observe, record, tabulate, communicate. Use your five senses. Learn to see, learn to hear, learn to feel, learn to smell, and know that by practice alone you can become expert.
William OslerRead
In seeking absolute truth we aim at the unattainable and must be content with broken portions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The pursuit of absolute truth may be impossible, leading us to focus on partial truths instead.
This quote expresses the idea that in our quest for complete understanding and absolute truth, we may encounter the reality that such a goal is beyond our reach. Instead of striving for a perfect and unattainable truth, we should accept and find value in the fragments of understanding we are able to grasp, recognizing that our knowledge will always be incomplete.
Themes
TruthWisdomUnderstandingKnowledgePursuit
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about philosophical concepts, this quote can illustrate our limitations in understanding reality.
More from William Osler
All quotes βThere is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation, and for some men it is quite as difficult to record an observation in brief and plain language.
William OslerRead
One of the first duties of the physician is to educate the masses not to take medicine.
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No bubble is so iridescent or floats longer than that blown by the successful teacher.
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The young physician starts life with 20 drugs for each disease, and the old physician ends life with one drug for 20 diseases.
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Let each hour of the day have its allotted duty, and cultivate that power of concentration which grows with its exercise.
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Come, then, affliction, if my Father wills, and be my frowning friend. A friend that frowns is better than a smiling enemy.
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The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.
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