Cliches, Conformity and Curiosity
Speedy GSK
Some thoughts on verbal and other experiences as a Medical Student... and after.
Cliché
A Cliché is defined as a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought.
One of the most common clichés we still hear is when a Chairman at a Lecture introduces the lecturer. After a long preamble, he says, “without any further ado, I now invite Dr Shakes Perera to deliver the Prof Vel Knowne Lecture".
Another one we had to get used to was when the Chairman says - "I like to make some short introductory comments before I request the speaker to deliver his lecture", and goes on and on for the next 15 min displaying his knowledge, completely forgetting (or ignoring) the fact that the audience came to listen to the Lecturer and not him!
Other
examples are- “at the end of the day”, “think outside the box”, “pot calling
the kettle black”, “be that as it may”, “plenty of fish in the sea”, “as time
is limited”, “ a few words of introduction”, and the patient is “a poor historian”, "having said that", "to cut a long story short".
Conformity
Conformity
is the act of matching one's attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours to those of a
group or society, often driven by social pressure to fit in, a desire to be
right, or the adoption of social roles.
Standing out from the group can lead to being ostracised, ridiculed, or punished. Conforming helps avoid these negative consequences, providing a sense of safety and support. I feel that there was an "I am a Medical Student" image that we wanted to fit into.
Ragging was a result of conformity. The desire to crack “kunu jokes”, the type of hairstyles and dress favoured, the adoption of an attitude you do not favour because you want to conform, e.g., call a rural boy “godaya”, join a group of raggers, are all driven by a wsih for conformity
Curiosity
Why? How? How do you know? What is the evidence? Belief or fact?
Curiosity is the ideal attitude for learning and acquiring knowledge; the attitude that aids in the development of the technique of taking a good history from a patient, and the attitude that facilitates using all available data to arrive at a diagnosis and management plan.
Some of our Teachers were exemplary in this respect. Notable examples - Viswa (O&G), Oliver Pieris, NDW Lionel, Wickrema Wijenaike, Ernie Pieris, just to name a few.
Current common usage
We often hear words like "absolutely," "you know what", "incredible," "awesome," "cool," and "super" this and "super" that, and with people starting every new paragraph with a "So..." when talking.
I hope colleagues will contribute with their own memories on this theme
ReplyDeleteApologies for posting this. This type of reflective thinking won't appeal to many. No worries!
ReplyDeleteMahendra,
ReplyDeleteThis incredible effort caters to the intellectuals of which I am not. Having said that, age has robbed me of the little I had while in the faculty. As I cannot think outside the box , now I stick to mundane jobs that do not require waking up the cortex like painting. At the end of the day someone has to keep the blog alive. I do appreciate your efforts. Lurking in the periphery still there are batch intellectuals who can illuminate this topic with something awesome. As time is limited, I sincerely wish they would make an appearance soon. It is certainly cool to find my writing in print on the blog. Meanwhile, I will try my best to think of something worthwhile to add to your masterful effort.
Great reply Nihal, using all the cliches you could think of! That is great humour! I do hope that I have managed to make at least a few of my collegaues to reflect on what I have stated here.
DeleteMahen, Thank you for your heroic efforts at rekindling a dying flame- hopefully not flogging a dead horse ! As Nihal has expressed, a weariness has set in in my life too- rather letting my brain be lazy than be innovative , with so many mundane things to attend to. I applaud your relentless efforts at trying to rein in an unmanageable “mob “! Lets hope phoenix emerges from the embers .
ReplyDeleteMy Best wishes- Rohini
You have made my day Rohini. May your knees never trouble you!
DeleteFrom my good friend Roshan Asver. Cliches we adopt
ReplyDeleteConformity we adapt
Sadly tis Curiosity
The oddity
That we must
Adopt and adapt !
Although a poor historian I will persevere to recall some aspects of my life. It is a rags to riches story. Rags from the inhumanity suffered at the hands of the seniors and riches from relieving the suffering of others. Life wasn’t a bed of roses in the faculty and neither in life. But life has not been a bed of nails either.
ReplyDeleteBuilding up my career has been a huge commitment. It has been a lottery but good fortune did smile on me. Bringing up children reminds me of the first smile and the first steps that made it all worthwhile.
In life we cannot do without money. Money is the root of all evil. Money did not buy happiness. Easy come easy go.
We all know growing old is mandatory. With age comes wisdom but why do they make us retire and stop work. Everyone says you're only as old as you feel and age is just a number, but they double your travel insurance.
Death comes to us all. We say he/she passed away. Death is but an inevitable adventure. A rapid exit is everyone’s dream.
This is nostalgia at its best Nihal; looking at and celebrating the good things that life gave you. Your positive approach will help you to live longer but not forever - thank goodness! Living forever will be a fate worse than death! Die as young as possible after living as long as possible!
ReplyDeleteMahendra
ReplyDeleteThank you for trying to keep our Blog alive. I felt I should post a comment in appreciating your endeavour in keeping our Blog alive.
Though there is a saying ' curiosity kills the cat' I agree with you that it is ideal for learning and acquiring knowledge.
Where our teachers are concerned I like to mention Prof. Carlo Fonseka and Prof. Lester Jayawardena.
I used to enjoy listening to Prof. Carlo Fonseka who impressed me the way he delivered his lectures.
Prof. Lester Jayawardena made us feel we were inside the pelvis, when he taught us anatomy of the pelvis, on your right you see ....., on your left you see ...., in front you see .... at the back you see .....He made us picture the anatomy. I appreciated it very much.
Wishing you all the best.
Chira
Thanks, Chira. I fully agree with you about Lester Jayawardena. He was a brilliant Anatomy lecturerer. Another one worth mentioning is Darrell Weinman.
DeleteGoing back to school, I will never forget Mr Arulanandan. He instilled in us -"Always ask the question WHY?". He was a Chemistry teacher, It really struck a chord in my young mind.
The famous song by Queen of 1986 comes to mind often:
ReplyDelete"There's no time for us
There's no place for us
What is this thing that builds our dreams
Yet tips 'em 'way from us
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?"
Nihal, my modification of this Queen song:
DeleteThere's still time for us
There's always a place for us
What is this thing that builds our dreams
Yet tips 'em 'way from us
Nobody can live forever
Nobody wants to live forever
Dreams are a worthy endeavour
Mahen
DeleteThat is excellent and cleverly created. It suits our present time and situation in life so well.
I have great sympathy for the "Queen" and appreciate his brilliance and also his courage for writing those lyrics when he knew his life was coming to an end.
Here is a somewhat fictitious but possible scenario of excessive cliches and verbosity by a Chairman introducing a Speaker, believing very firmly that he/she is not merely tasked with introducing the speaker but has many other important duties to perform during the introduction.
ReplyDelete"Ladies and Gentlemen, assuming of course that you are all described as such in the true meaning of those terms and not merely as shorthand for sex. Before I introduce Prof Bryant from Heartfelt University, who needs no introduction at all because he is one of the most recognised authorities in the World on the subject of Deviant Squirrel behaviour, I want to make some house keeping announcements. In case of a fire, highly unlikely but nevertheless, cannot be ruled out entirely as fires have broken out in similar buildings in the past, please walk or if possible run as fast as possible to the exit door which is the fifth door to your left as you go through the large brown door at the back of the auditorium which is easily visible provided no idiotic person/s are standing in front of it and blocking the view, and I am NOT referring to extremely obese people although admittedly very obese people do cover more of the visible part of the door compared to the non-obese and this is hardly the place to criticise obesity. For those who cannot run or walk fast, sorry, tough luck and I am sure you would have written your Will to cover such eventualities.
The next important announcement is the location of the toilets. They are on the next floor and would take a significant amount of time to reach. If you have urgency I would advice you to tuck some tissues in your underwear but the problem with this is that in order to do so you would need some privacy and that means finding your way to the toilets, the place where you would have difficulty in going.
But there is a way out, by that I don't mean a way out of the Lecture Hall because that would lead to the car park which has no privacy at all and most of you I trust are not exhibitionists
I therefore I suggest that when I crack a joke in a few minutes, and all attention is focussed on me and my joke (I am pretty good at cracking jokes by the way), quickly tuck the tissues in the appropriate place, largely unnoticed apart from a few perverts I can do nothing about as I cannot cleanse Society unless I am given powers that I or for that matter, anybody, should be given, not even Donald Triumph!........
Congratulations Mahen on your excellent description. I cracked up laughing and read it time and time again! This is stand up comedienne
ReplyDeletestuff!
Virginia
What a lovely surpise Virginia! It was great to see your comment and I am so pleased it had the desired effect! All the best and do continue to keep in touch.
DeleteThanks Mahen for some excellent humour on a dull and dreary autumn day in London.
ReplyDeleteEven a small contribution to make your day brighter brings me satisfaction Nihal.
DeleteI was reminded of another formidable figure from our Med Fac days, Path Cooray. In the very first lecture he gave us, he said this. "I want you to ask questions at the end of my lecture. If you don't, either you have understood everything I said perfectly, which is highly unlikely, or you are scared to ask questions. Let me tell you this. I get the greatest satisfaction when my students ask me questions giving me the opportunity to clarify points".
ReplyDeleteHe then delivers a good lecture and towards the end, he starts collecting things on the lecture desk under his armpit, ready to take off and says almost as an afterthought, "Any questions?". He appears to be in a hurry to leave the lecture theatre and nobody asks any questions.
One day, one of us (the name cannot be revealed under the Privacy and Confidential laws), stands up with his arm slightly elevated above the Plimsol line and says " Sir when you explained (xxx) I didn't quite understand it. Could you please explain again Sir?". Path Cooray glares at him for a moment and responds, "You were clearly not paying any attention to what I was saying because I gave the clearest explanation of (xxx). I am not wasting my time on idiots like you", and stormed out. Result? Nobody ever asked him any questions again. He won!
Path Cooray was an institution within an institution. He was a wonderful teacher and taught us well. He represented well the enormous gulf that existed between teacher and student in that era.
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between a teacher and a student is a dynamic and vital bond, essential for fostering a positive learning environment and supporting a student’s overall development. Such relationships are built on trust, respect, and communication, profoundly influencing academic achievement, emotional well-being, and a student’s sense of belonging. A strong, positive teacher–student relationship nurtures engagement, motivation, and lifelong learning.
During my school years, there existed a significant gap between teachers and students. Teachers demanded—and received—respect. Corporal punishment was common, and discipline was strictly maintained. Teachers were always addressed as “Sir,” and close friendships between teachers and students were rare, except perhaps in the sixth form.
This culture extended into higher education as well. At the Faculty of Medicine in Colombo, some professors, lecturers, and clinical teachers carried themselves like demi-gods. This is not to criticize them—it was simply the accepted norm of that era.
Today, the situation has changed almost beyond recognition. In some schools, teachers are now addressed by their first names—a shift that might seem progressive but has also led to concerns about declining respect for educators. Reports have surfaced of “no-go zones” for teachers within schools, of restricted access, and, tragically, of teachers being assaulted or even killed by students. Parents, too, sometimes side with their children in disputes against teachers, further eroding authority and respect.
As an octogenarian, I view the present world differently from younger generations. I believe there must be a healthier, more balanced relationship between teachers and students—one that preserves mutual respect while encouraging open communication—better than what existed in the past and what we see today.
Excellent expression of your viewpoint Nihal. I certainly did not imply any disrespect for Path Cooray who was on the whole a great teacher of Pathology. The incident I described is not fictional- it actually happened. Apart from Path Cooray's teaching, the biggest influence in my understanding of Pathology was that wonderful book by Walter & Israel, a copy of which I still posess.
ReplyDeleteHello Mahendra
ReplyDeleteWhat I wrote about education was not a reply to what you had written about Path Cooray. Infact it has no connection whatsoever to it. I wanted to send the article as a separate piece for publication but decided against it as there is nothing much to discuss on education as many of us are far removed from it now.
I do know how much you respect Path Cooray as many of us do. Walter and Israel was a masterpiece on General Pathology. Muirs Textbook was a good doorstopper and nil else.
Thanks for your clarification. We are on the "same page" as they say in the land of Klee Shay!
Delete