
“Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.”
As quoted in Computers in biomedical research (1965) by Ralph W. Stacy, p. 320.
Interview with Oriana Fallaci (2 December 1979), Corriere della Sera
Interviews
“Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.”
As quoted in Computers in biomedical research (1965) by Ralph W. Stacy, p. 320.
Source: Why Men Earn More (2005), p. 18.
"Miracle Drug"
Lyrics, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
"Science and Scientism", p. 115.
The Second Sin (1973)
Kashf ul Mahjoob, Chapter I, Affirmation of Knowledge, p. 80
Kashf ul Mahjoob
Source: Quotes of Salvador Dali, 1961 - 1970, Diary of a Genius (1964), p. 81
“Goodness comes in many forms, not just medicine and science.”
Thank Goodness! (2006)
Context: Goodness comes in many forms, not just medicine and science. Thank goodness for the music of, say, Randy Newman, which could not exist without all those wonderful pianos and recording studios, to say nothing of the musical contributions of every great composer from Bach through Wagner to Scott Joplin and the Beatles. Thank goodness for fresh drinking water in the tap, and food on our table. Thank goodness for fair elections and truthful journalism. If you want to express your gratitude to goodness, you can plant a tree, feed an orphan, buy books for schoolgirls in the Islamic world, or contribute in thousands of other ways to the manifest improvement of life on this planet now and in the near future.
Or you can thank God — but the very idea of repaying God is ludicrous. What could an omniscient, omnipotent Being (the Man Who has Everything?) do with any paltry repayments from you? (And besides, according to the Christian tradition God has already redeemed the debt for all time, by sacrificing his own son. Try to repay that loan!) Yes, I know, those themes are not to be understood literally; they are symbolic. I grant it, but then the idea that by thanking God you are actually doing some good has got to be understood to be just symbolic, too. I prefer real good to symbolic good.
Still, I excuse those who pray for me. I see them as like tenacious scientists who resist the evidence for theories they don't like long after a graceful concession would have been the appropriate response. I applaud you for your loyalty to your own position — but remember: loyalty to tradition is not enough. You've got to keep asking yourself: What if I'm wrong? In the long run, I think religious people can be asked to live up to the same moral standards as secular people in science and medicine.
“You should read books like you take medicine, by advice, and not by advertisement.”
"Storm", 2013 https://books.google.ca/books?id=8u9pBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=%22tim+minchin%22+%22alternative+medicine%22+proved&source=bl&ots=tJIyTK6Fog&sig=i_Iquw3_fYAx-J8AXZd5sT-BfOk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY_4vx-ebYAhVH_IMKHQnXDJAQ6AEIiAEwEA#v=onepage&q=%22tim%20minchin%22%20%22alternative%20medicine%22%20proved&f=false
Source: An Essay on Aristocratic Radicalism (1889), p. 26 (cf. Daybreak, § 11)