Quotable quotes

History and humanities
Volume 191 - Issue 11

The getting of wisdom: quotes from MJA contributors in 2009

Author:  Ann T Gregory

Med J Aust 2009; 191 (11): 644. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb03362.x
Published online: 7 December 2009
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Each year, medical editors at the MJA read thousands of peer-review reports recommending the acceptance, revision or rejection of hundreds of manuscripts. This advice is generally sound and based on data, information and knowledge. It is always gratefully received and highly valued. Most rarely received, but most prized of all, are comments steeped in wisdom.

What is wisdom? It seems that data progress to information and then on to knowledge. British physicist, experimental psychologist and revolutionary futurist Peter Russell suggests that knowledge then progresses to a new level of thinking — what we call wisdom.1 The essence of wisdom is discernment — of right from wrong, of helpful from harmful, and of truth from delusion.

Here, we string together some of our reviewers’ pearls of wisdom that appeared on MJA medical editors’ screens this year.

When one is not enough

“On its own, monitoring cannot combat rising obesity levels. If this argument were to hold for Indigenous health, we would have closed the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous morbidity and mortality well before now.”

Timing matters

“This is a ‘work-in-progress’ report on an important initiative, although the fruits have yet to ripen, let alone be gathered.”

Apples and oranges

“Petrol sniffing and filling up your car with petrol are comparable — yes, the end result is acquiring petrol, but they should not be mentioned together.”

Nothing will happen

“The trouble with the term ‘judicious use’ is that it results in no meaningful change in behaviour.”

Anyone for a purge?

“The only way to tell the difference between the sheep and the true believers is by the occasional bloody purge (no, not the swear word, the literal meaning). Thomas Jefferson said: ‘A little revolution [sic] now and then is a good thing... The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants’.2 So publish I say, and let the blood run free.”

Woof!

Peer review can be a tricky business. Although it is not uncommon for a content expert to suggest a revision that is at odds with the statistical advice received, it is indeed uncommon for the content reviewer to be proven right. After seeking further advice to resolve one such contentious point, our arbitrator delightfully quipped:

“You should give this content expert a gold star! A big one. About the size of a small dog. He is absolutely correct in his points and I support his concern about the suggestions of the statistical reviewer.”

The reviewer who received the compliment was just as quick-witted: “Let’s hope the ‘small dog’ does not bite me!”

Food for thought

Blissfully, MJA authors display an equal share of wisdom, not only in the Journal pages but also in their correspondence.

Author: “There is not much one can put in 850 words and 10 references, but an editorial should probably be an invitation to think rather than a recipe to follow.”

Touché

Reviewer: “The editorial needs to be much more critical, eg, pointing out the preliminary nature of the studies and that they are at best hypothesis-generating. It might even stipulate the definitive studies that are needed and the confounders that need to be overcome...”

Authors’ reply: “We would like to quote Sir Austin Bradford Hill: ‘All scientific work is incomplete — whether it be observational or experimental. All scientific work is liable to be upset or modified by advancing knowledge. That does not confer upon us a freedom to ignore the knowledge we already have, or to postpone the action that it appears to demand ...’”3

Whereas online publishing is a relatively recent innovation, wisdom is ancient and enduring. In the 17th century, Thomas Bartholin, the Danish physician, physiologist and anatomist, penned what has become one of my favourite quotations:

Unfortunately, there are enough people who are so infatuated with their specialized studies that they are ignorant and unaware of other disciplines. If fate happens to lead them to fields other than their own, they are helpless and lost. May God protect you from an infection with the germs of haughty contempt for the efforts of scientists in other branches of science. Your country demands more than one-sided proficiency. Only the correlation of extensive knowledge will bring us closer to actual wisdom.4

Perhaps depth comes with a breadth of experience?

Author

  • Ann T Gregory MB BS, GradCertPopHealth1
  • 1. Medical Journal of Australia, Sydney, NSW.

Correspondence: medjaust@ampco.com.au

References

View this article on Wiley Online Library