Listening to Experts

This is another post from Lou Tice at the Winners Circle. In this one Lou reminds us that ‘experts’ are just fallible human beings who happen to have more knowledge than most in their chosen field. The trouble is, they are not always right, and Lou illustrates this from his own family’s experience, an experience that could have ended tragically.

If a doctor told you had a year to live, what would you do?

Some time ago, my wife Diane and I were in a group that was discussing how to get the most out of life. The question arose about what one would do, if they had only a year to live. Some people said they would travel around the world, others said they would try to heal relationships, and others said they would spend time in meditation and prayer.

But Diane had the best answer of them all. She didn’t hesitate a moment before she said loudly and clearly, “Get a second opinion!” And then she added, “And maybe a third and fourth one too.”

You see, when Diane was told she had terminal cancer many years ago that is exactly what she did. She said, “Maybe I have cancer, but it doesn’t have to be terminal,” and she went looking for doctors who would join her in developing an effective strategy to beat the disease. And she did beat it. Diane doesn’t give her power away to anyone just because they are supposed to be experts.

If you want to read something eye opening, get hold of a copy of “The Experts Speak”. This book has been around for a while, but it is a 392-page collection of noted experts being wrong about almost everything. The section on doctors will astound you.

Don’t ever accept a death sentence from a doctor or a pronouncement of doom from a so-called authority. After all, according to the experts, the sun goes around the earth, smoking is good for us, there is no global warming, and the Titanic is unsinkable!

Lou Tice
The Pacific Institute

I have to admit that I am someone who does tend to take people I perceive as experts at their word. It would probably do me good to get a hold of a copy of “The Experts Speak”, the book Lou mentions. The trouble is, it would likely scare me too. I think what Lou’s wife did was pretty amazing, it isn’t to easy to disagree with a doctor’s advice.

Not on the same scale as Diane’s, but I’m now in a position where I have to disagree with a specialist doctor, an expert, I have no choice. In the last few weeks I’ve had to see two different specialists for different problems. The first advised that I increase one of the tablets I take, the second has advised that I stop taking the same tablets altogether because of relatively rare side-effects. I’m left making a choice between more, and less well controlled, pain or impaired mental faculties: I’m choosing to accept the pain. I can’t say as I’m looking forward to the next few months getting used to things.

This post from Lou Tice at the Winners Circle has helped me think things through with this decision; as his posts so often do. If you think you would benefit from more of them, do please consider subscribing to the daily emails yourself, it doesn’t cost anything.