[extropy-chat] Physicians and Spirituality

[Eliezer S. Yudkowsky]

Olga Bourlin wrote:
> "A survey examining religion in medicine found that most U.S. doctors 
> believe in God and an afterlife - a surprising degree of spirituality in 
> a science-based field, researchers say.":
> 
> http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apscience_story.asp?category=1500&slug=Doctors%20and%20God 
> 
> Having known several physicians in my life has led me to the conclusion 
> that many physicians (and nurses, too - from what my daughter, an R.N., 
> has told me) are generally not deep thinkers, but more like 
> technicians.  Please observe I said "many" - certainly not all.
> 
> I can't help it - I've tried to explain this to myself in many ways, but 
> I still find this situation somewhat depressing.

I once had a dentist whom I sent to my Bayes page.  He reported that he tried 
to read it and just couldn't understand it.  If you've read my Bayes page, you 
know that means he couldn't readily handle algebra.

My dentist presumably had considerably above average IQ.  Dental school isn't 
for idiots.

-- 
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky                          http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence