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
What is the student but a lover courting a fickle mistress who ever eludes his grasp?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The pursuit of knowledge is often elusive, akin to chasing an ungraspable love.
This quote by William Osler metaphorically compares the experience of a student to that of a lover who is trying to win over a capricious partner. It emphasizes the challenges and frustrations inherent in the pursuit of knowledge, suggesting that the quest for understanding is often difficult and that mastery may always feel just out of reach.
Themes
EducationLearningKnowledgeStudentPursuitChallenges
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used to inspire students during a graduation speech.
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.
William OslerRead
No bubble is so iridescent or floats longer than that blown by the successful teacher.
William OslerRead
The young physician starts life with 20 drugs for each disease, and the old physician ends life with one drug for 20 diseases.
William OslerRead
Let each hour of the day have its allotted duty, and cultivate that power of concentration which grows with its exercise.
William OslerRead
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