Re:Why are Soviet math textbooks so hardcore in comparison t...
by chopin on Wednesday April 22, 2020 @08:50AM
(#22944958)
Not being profound at statistics should be a strict no-go for anyone practicing medicine.
Many great discoveries come from linking different disciplines. I hope there is more to live than just a career. I am very grateful for the broad spectrum I've been given.
Re:Why are Soviet math textbooks so hardcore in comparison t...
by blaser-waffle on Wednesday April 22, 2020 @09:31AM
(#22945320)
I need my doctor to have a basic understanding of statistics. I don't need them to have a profound knowledge of anything except their professional specialty.
Chances are they took a basic Epidemiology class -- or a class that had it as a component -- and covered "Stat for medical workers." And that should be enough.
Re:Why are Soviet math textbooks so hardcore in comparison t...
by tgflynn on Wednesday April 22, 2020 @11:21AM
(#22946499)
I disagree. Accurate reasoning under uncertainty is highly non-trivial (as current events with covid-19 are making clear) and is I suspect one of the most important skills a clinician could have for making rational diagnoses and treatment decisions.
Whether currently available statistics training is even adequate to the task of teaching this skill is a separate question, the answer to which is unclear to me.
Re:Why are Soviet math textbooks so hardcore in comparison t...
by iateanapple on Thursday April 23, 2020 @12:10AM
(#22952717)
> Not being profound at statistics should be a strict no-go for anyone practicing medicine.
I think you will find that your bar would exclude the overwhelming majority of doctors.
As a Chinese student who studied in Australia for a few years I think you just misunderstand the culture.
Most of the popular kids got good grades and were not labelled as nerds. And the nerd kids didn’t really get good grades either.
I think Australians are very practical focused (maybe this is what you mean by anti-intellectual?).
For example the friends I know who wanted to do medicine and law - and are now successful doctors and lawyers - stopped focusing on maths at the end of grade 10.
This would put them way behind in math than an equivalent Chinese student who also wanted to be a doctor or lawyer but as far as I can tell it hasn’t had any negative impact on their careers.