Osler's Observation
StoryIllustration★★★★A small bottle containing urine sat on the desk of Sir William Osler. He was then the eminent professor of medicine at Oxford University. Sitting before him was a classroom full of young wide-eyed medical students listening to his lecture on the importance of observing details. To emphasize his point, he reached down and picked up the bottle. Holding it high, he announced: “This bottle contains a sample for analysis. It’s often possible by testing it to determine the disease from which the patient suffers.”
Suiting actions to words, he dipped a finger into the fluid and then into his mouth as he continued: “Now I am going to pass this bottle around. Each of you please do exactly as I did. Perhaps we can learn the importance of this technique and diagnose the case.”
The bottle made its way from row to row as each student gingerly poked his finger in and bravely sampled the contents with a frown. Dr. Osler then retrieved the bottle and startled his students with these words: “Gentlemen, now you will understand what I mean when I speak about details. Had you been observant, you would have seen that I put my index finger into the bottle but put my middle finger into my mouth!” –1001 Great Stories & Quotes, R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1998), 305.
R. Kent Hughes, 1001 Great Stories & Quotes, 305.
The point
Dr. William Osler tests his medical students' observational skills. Each student follows his example, dipping a finger into a urine sample, only to learn Osler had placed his index finger in the vial but his middle finger in his mouth. The lesson: careful observation reveals deception.