Nothing is Known by Guess

Nothing is known in our profession by guess; and I do not believe, that from the first dawn of medical science to the present moment, a single correct idea has ever emanated from conjecture: it is right therefore, that those who are studying their profession should be aware that there is no short road to knowledge; and that observation on the diseased living, examination of the dead, and experiments upon living animals, are the only sources of true knowledge; and that inductions from these are the sole bases of legitimate theory.

Notes:

In medicine, everything is known from examination of the dead and experiments on living animals. A bit of wisdom from 1851.

Folksonomies: empiricism medicine

Taxonomies:
/science/medicine (0.485311)
/technology and computing/hardware/computer networking/router (0.348025)
/family and parenting/children (0.221048)

Keywords:
single correct idea (0.962918 (neutral:0.000000)), present moment (0.817627 (neutral:0.000000)), sole bases (0.814385 (neutral:0.000000)), legitimate theory (0.803520 (neutral:0.000000)), medical science (0.791862 (neutral:0.000000)), diseased living (0.790741 (neutral:0.000000)), short road (0.782726 (neutral:0.000000)), living animals (0.768045 (neutral:0.000000)), true knowledge (0.756732 (neutral:0.000000)), guess (0.696790 (neutral:0.000000)), examination (0.654027 (neutral:0.000000)), experiments (0.651482 (neutral:0.000000)), profession (0.644006 (neutral:0.000000)), inductions (0.602646 (neutral:0.000000)), conjecture (0.583754 (neutral:0.000000)), bit (0.576859 (positive:0.322562)), observation (0.574001 (neutral:0.000000)), wisdom (0.573264 (positive:0.322562)), dawn (0.570350 (neutral:0.000000))

Concepts:
Scientific method (0.956453): dbpedia | freebase
Medicine (0.889331): dbpedia | freebase
Knowledge (0.841788): dbpedia | freebase
Science (0.776172): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Hypothesis (0.741891): dbpedia | freebase
Physician (0.692084): dbpedia | freebase
Disease (0.691526): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Present (0.670766): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc

 A Treatise on Dislocations and Fractures of the Joints
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book:  Cooper , Sir Astley (1851), A Treatise on Dislocations and Fractures of the Joints, Retrieved on 2012-02-13
  • Source Material [books.google.com]
  • Folksonomies: medical