The Best
Remember when "the best" meant something special, really great and nothing else was better? Remember when you had a "best friend"? Best was a word reserved for only that very special few who met your high standards and they would be with you no matter what happened.
Recently I had a talk with a colleague, an MD, who believes as I do that "the best" deserves to be tacked on to something that is earned, not bought, something that signifies accomplishment without coercion or puffery. It's something for which we all continue to strive and yet, as a wise statistics professor once told me, "is always beyond our reach so we are ever trying to grasp it."
He was talking about a concept of higher statistics called multiple regression analysis and, in my estimation and to those who had had the great good fortune to be his students, he was "the best." Never had I had fellow students eagerly tell me, "you've got to take his course because he may be retiring and you have to have him as a professor." I had to have this man as a professor? Weren't there other professors who could do as good a job? Quite simply, no. I found that out from the moment I stepped into his packed lecture hall and he began by very simply telling us what we could expect from him.
"If you are my student," he began, "you will always be my student and, if you need help with your research or your statistics, you will come to my home and my wife will make us bagels and cream cheese and we'll talk about statistics until you understand. If the weather is good, we'll go for a walk. You will always be welcome. Remember, there are no stupid questions, if you don't understand something, so don't let that stop you from calling."
I remembered him fondly and I still do and, occasionally, I wonder how he's doing in Florida. I'd love to sit in his lectures again and, if the opportunity ever presented itself, I'd be on a plane tomorrow. He is that most special of individuals who is simply among "the best."
I bring this subject up because I am finding there are too many "bests" being thrown around today. There are also too many people who claim to have all kinds of accreditation from any number of organizations. This is how the MD and I began talking about the subject. He said it wasn't hard to get whatever letters you wanted. If you just sent in your check, you would receive your "diplomate" or whatever it was that you were buying.
A listserv of which I am a member mentioned the same topic of purported credentials that would seem to place these individuals among "the best" in their field. The MD posting it remarked that everyone should remember it's still "let the buyer beware" time when looking for any services whether medical or other.
So, let's remember that "the best" can be used until it no longer has any meaning and I, for one, intend to keep my standards high and my critical analytic ability sharp in order to weed out those who would pretend to be among "the best."
Related Topics: Best Depression Treatment: The One You Want, Medical Specialists
Technorati Tags: best, topranked
Recently I had a talk with a colleague, an MD, who believes as I do that "the best" deserves to be tacked on to something that is earned, not bought, something that signifies accomplishment without coercion or puffery. It's something for which we all continue to strive and yet, as a wise statistics professor once told me, "is always beyond our reach so we are ever trying to grasp it."
He was talking about a concept of higher statistics called multiple regression analysis and, in my estimation and to those who had had the great good fortune to be his students, he was "the best." Never had I had fellow students eagerly tell me, "you've got to take his course because he may be retiring and you have to have him as a professor." I had to have this man as a professor? Weren't there other professors who could do as good a job? Quite simply, no. I found that out from the moment I stepped into his packed lecture hall and he began by very simply telling us what we could expect from him.
"If you are my student," he began, "you will always be my student and, if you need help with your research or your statistics, you will come to my home and my wife will make us bagels and cream cheese and we'll talk about statistics until you understand. If the weather is good, we'll go for a walk. You will always be welcome. Remember, there are no stupid questions, if you don't understand something, so don't let that stop you from calling."
I remembered him fondly and I still do and, occasionally, I wonder how he's doing in Florida. I'd love to sit in his lectures again and, if the opportunity ever presented itself, I'd be on a plane tomorrow. He is that most special of individuals who is simply among "the best."
I bring this subject up because I am finding there are too many "bests" being thrown around today. There are also too many people who claim to have all kinds of accreditation from any number of organizations. This is how the MD and I began talking about the subject. He said it wasn't hard to get whatever letters you wanted. If you just sent in your check, you would receive your "diplomate" or whatever it was that you were buying.
A listserv of which I am a member mentioned the same topic of purported credentials that would seem to place these individuals among "the best" in their field. The MD posting it remarked that everyone should remember it's still "let the buyer beware" time when looking for any services whether medical or other.
So, let's remember that "the best" can be used until it no longer has any meaning and I, for one, intend to keep my standards high and my critical analytic ability sharp in order to weed out those who would pretend to be among "the best."
Related Topics: Best Depression Treatment: The One You Want, Medical Specialists
Technorati Tags: best, topranked
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