Too Many Smart People
My dad often says, “Being smart is not enough; there’s too many just smart people in the world.” Although I’ve had this statement repeated to me uncountable times while growing up, I am finding it to be truer everyday. Often it is the simplest words of advice that take a lifetime to fully understand.
Everyday, I am surrounded by bright minds. Medical students are the cream of the science student crop. They are the high school students who are capable of post-secondary education. They are the students who excel in their university academics, who ace the MCAT and who still have time to pursue extracurricular activities. All medical students have a certain level of “smartness.”
I am amazed at the talent of my classmates. One has run multiple marathons and triathlons. Another has worked for the United Nations. Others have completed their PhD’s and are called doctors already. Watching my classmates assimilate large amounts of information in a short period of time for a test is proof of their gifted abilities. I sometimes feel insecure in medical school amongst all these smart people, like an imposter who slipped through the cracks of the admissions committee into medical school. And compared to the doctors and professors who frequently “pimp” the class with obscure questions, my confidence in my abilities is often shaken up. However, being smart and talented IS NOT everything.
Growing up, I was always curious as to how successful people got to where they were. How do athletes win championships and musicians write bestsellers? This curiosity naturally made the biography books – especially autobiographies – a favorite genre of mine. I read up on the lives of great thinkers, pivotal leaders and famous doctors trying to find a common thread to their success. And to my surprise, being smart was not a crucial element. They all acknowledged that their talents and brains gave them a slight advantage over other people, but much like my father, they also acknowledged that there are also many smart people.
A video I’d like to share is from TED talks on success. (For those who haven’t heard of TED before, go check it out, there are a lot of great lectures to view on just about anything) It sums up nicely what I think is needed – on top of being smart – in order to become a good doctor. Enjoy!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6bbMQXQ180]
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Engineering students fit what you are saying a lot better. Only about 25-30% of students actually complete undergraduate engineering. And you know what, the best engineers tend to be the average students and not the brightest students. Being smart is an advantage but not a clear advantage.
Perhaps your dad transposed a word; he should have said, “Being smart is not enough; there’s too many just smart people in the world.”, i.e., too many people whose intelligence is their only virtue. This seems to be the substance of your sentiment, that doctors also need to be good with people, etc. Surely you do not actually mean that the world would be better off if there were fewer smart people. Lack of intelligence in a population leads to economic and social stagnation, and a poorer standard of living. The world already has enough of that.
Thanks for picking that up. I think you got what I meant to say, too many people who are JUST smart.
I agree, overall, it would be better if we had more smart people, but smart people who are more than just smart.
One great piece of advice I learned from one of the most successful people in history, deceased now. He stated that for a state or a person the key to success lies in this two part mentality, that one must realize and truly be convinced that:
“No task too great or too difficult to be accomplished, and no task is too small to be overlooked.”
Basically dedication, persistence, and a positive attitude can lead to that frame of mind.
Thanks for the great blog medaholic!
Thanks. may I ask who this person is?