"There is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation, and for some men it is quite as difficult to record an observation in brief and plain language."

Art

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Art as articulated by William Osler. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Art provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About William Osler

Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first residency program for specialty training of physicians. He has frequently been described as the Father of Modern Medicine and one of the "greatest diagnosticians ever to wield a stethoscope". In addition to being a physician he was a bibliophile, historian, author, and renowned practical joker. He was passionate about medical libraries and medical history, having founded the History of Medicine Society, at the Royal Society of Medicine, London. He was also instrumental in founding the Medical Library Association of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Association of Medical Librarians along with three other people, including Margaret Charlton, the medical librarian of his alma mater, McGill University. He left his own large history of medicine library to McGill, where it became the Osler Library.

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More by William Osler

"In seeking absolute truth we aim at the unattainable and must be content with broken portions."

— William Osler
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"No bubble is so iridescent or floats longer than that blown by the successful teacher."

— William Osler
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"Soap and water and common sense are the best disinfectants."

— William Osler
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"Observe, record, tabulate, communicate. Use your five senses. Learn to see, learn to hear, learn to feel, learn to smell, and know that by practice alone you can become expert."

— William Osler
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More about Art

"I've studied various schools of thought... I acknowledge that some Muslims consider music prohibited, but I've found a lot of evidence from the life of the Prophet to show that he allowed certainly, but even encouraged, music at certain times."

— Cat Stevens
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"And if they haven't got poetry in them, there's nothing you can do that will produce it."

— Norman MacCaig
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"Poetry and consumption are the most flattering of diseases."

— William Shenstone
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"The object of art is to give life a shape."

— Jean Anouilh
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