I like to think I'm funny, or at least entertaining. Even if I'm shy at first, once you get me to open up, I just can't stop talking, telling stories, joking around, and, well, just trying to entertain. I've used the same approach when I lecture to students. If I can present the course content in a compelling way, whether that is through a personal experience, a story, or a bad joke, I will do it. Not only do I get a kick out of it myself, but it helps the course material stick and it keeps the energy up in the classroom or presentation. That being said, sometimes telling a joke is not the best thing to do depending on the audience or situation. I tend to try to joke about things in the wrong situation, especially if I am trying to diffuse tension. As you can imagine, jokes at a bad time do not land well, and I've had my fare share of plenty. However, in this circumstance, it resulted in some pretty cool reassurance and life advice (I still didn't get the laugh or a witty remark so I'm still bitter about it).
I'm going to take us back to my recent hospital visit. I know I said I was moving on from this, but trust me, this is good stuff. I think it was the fourth day that I was there. The GI specialist, who I will just refer to as Doc from here on out, would stop by my room every day to check in on me and make sure things were good. Sometimes it was really early, like before 9am, that he would do his rounds before what I am assuming was a full day in the Operating Room, and others, it was a more reasonable time, like around lunch. Well, this particular day was one of the early days, so cognitively I was on point! Also at this point, I had my new medication all organized and ready to go for once I was out of the hospital. Here I was, couped up in a hospital bed, with connection to the internet via my cellphone, with nothing to do all day but read up on my new medication. I like research so that is exactly what I had been doing (when I had the energy to do something).
I knew the Doc would come in and follow his routine of asking me his list of questions. How was I doing? Am I eating or drinking? Any changes since yesterday? How is the pain? Do you have any questions for me? Normally, my response to the last question was "When can I get out of here?" To which he would always respond, "Let's see how you are tomorrow?" or something along that line. Well, on this day, I was ready. I had some rapid fire questions about Stelara, the medication I was switching to. I didn't do all that reading for nothing. I didn't study the stats, dive into the methodology, understand the medication timeline for nothing (ya, I know... sounds like a fun time... but like I said, I like research). This time, when he asked me if I had any questions, I threw him the curve ball and skipped passed my usual optimistic "going home" question. However, I also felt bad for some reason that I was about to bombard the doctor with a bunch of questions surrounding a potentially complex topic (not that he couldn't handle it). So, I started off my round of questioning with a little self-deprecating humor.
"Okay, so I have a few questions today and I must apologize in advance. I am probably going to be that patient that has read too much but anyway here are my nerdy questions." Not even close to funny looking back, but give me a break, I was still pretty sleep deprived and brain fried from reading. Now this is where it gets interesting though because the doctor, without even skipping a beat, looked me dead in the face and said, "Never apologize for reading too much, you should always be reading and learning."
While I honestly didn't expect him to laugh, his comment hit me like a ton of bricks and I realized a few things in that moment. First, doctors actually like a well-informed patient. This does not mean the patient who has read MSNBC or a few Reddit posts, or has listened to a few Joe Rogan podcasts and thinks they are an expert. I am talking about a patient who has taken the time to search out credible sources, whether that be research articles or actual experts on podcasts (Sorry Rogan, I don't think you fall into this category), and is asking questions within the range of possibilities with a true intention of understanding, not trying to corner the doc into a "gotchya" moment. Previously, I thought asking questions and taking up the doc's time was burdensome, so I would restrict my questioning to very few, very direct questions. What a stupid thought process on my part!
Second, I realized I had started to hold back on my reading and learning because, well, I was becoming discouraged. I'm not even sure why I felt discouraged. I guess it just started to feel like the world around me was caring less and less about information and knowledge, and more about emotions and how specific "facts" made them feel. I felt like the information was carrying this dark cloud around with me at times. For example, I have spent a lot of time studying fitness, physical activity, and health, so when it comes to something like food choices for dinner and the options are chicken nuggets or chicken salad, every essence of my being wants the chicken nuggets. I crave them. But then I think of all the research out there linking processed meats to cancer and really poor health risks. This leads to guilt and then I order the chicken salad, grudgingly staring at those in the restaurant eating the chicken nuggets or other forms of food heaven. Granted, these people could be super healthy and out for a cheat meal... sure, I can believe that (don't think that I won't smash a plate of chicken nuggets on a cheat day, on the rare days I have them). I'm not throwing any sort of jab at anyone who eats chicken nuggets. I get it, they are delicious. Rather, this example is based on a few times where I have legitimately taken the chicken nugget box out of the fridge, to stare at it for a solid five minutes as I have an internal debate with myself if they are worth eating because of what I know about processed food. Every time I put the box back... I've also done this with pizza, burgers and probably every tasty food known to humans.
Yet, it goes beyond just food choices. Another example from the world of fitness is that I will stress about my set and rep scheme, as well as my exercise choice. I put a lot of effort into planning my fitness sessions so that they align with my goals. Yet, I see and speak to a lot of people who will just go to the gym, do whatever they feel that day, and walk away feeling accomplished despite not getting any closer to their goals because what they did will not get them there. I mean, sure, I'll theoretically reach my goals before they do, but the stress along the way is nothing to scoff at. On the other side of the coin, that person who went and did bicep curls while using full body momentum is just whistling their way out the front door because they believe they made progress. I had been envious of that happiness. Yet, after the doctor's comments, I also realized that I would rather understand and be knowledgeable rather than be blissful but stagnant. Maybe that's just me. I'm not sure if I would go as far to say that one is better than the other or that one is right and the other is wrong. I can only say what I prefer based on my personality. Safe to say, the nudge given to me by the doc's comment rekindled my enjoyment of obtaining knowledge.
With that in mind, of course I'm going to advocate for my belief, which is knowledge is everything. I think everything starts with a foundation of true knowledge. Not just memorizing a line in a book or on a podcast, but truly understanding a concept. For my jiu jitsu friends out there, I equate it to drilling a position to memorization versus truly understanding how to apply it. Just memorizing how to do an armbar will get you really good at doing an armbar from guard on a static opponent because that is all you have trained. But if you understand the principles of the armbar and have a full knowledge of the technique and the how/when of application, you will be able to get that armbar in a variety of positions, on a variety of opponents because you understand it to the core. This very principle applies everywhere.
Just think of most situations you can find yourself in. If I am at a doctor's office and the doctor is explaining something to me that I either don't understand or agree with. Obviously, the doctor has more knowledge than I do, but they are human and sometimes make mistakes, so I don't think it is bad to challenge every once and a while. If I have a basic understanding of physiology and anatomy, maybe even some pathophysiology, I will be able to have that somewhat complex conversation with that doctor and either identify an issue in the logic (leading to potentially better care) or I can better understand the doctor's logic, giving me more optimism in the treatment and trust in the doctor. The same applies to something like taking your car to the shop for repairs (notorious for pulling wool over the eyes of unsuspecting customers) or talking education with your kid's grade 4 teacher. The point is that the more knowledge you have, the better position you are in to discuss and question.
The best part of it is this. You may be sitting there thinking this is a novel thing, or a big mountain to climb, etc.. But the cool thing is that it is never too late to start. Pick an area of interest, or pick something of meaning to you. Over COVID, even though I had public health training, I spent a lot of time looking into infectious disease epidemiology because it was simply fascinating to me. It also helped me decipher information I was coming across online. With that said, I do want to end on just one word of warning. When you are learning, make sure you learn from reputable sources. Not every YouTube video is a credible source, nor is any site online (this blog post included). There is some due diligence required. I personally stick with books and journal articles. Google Scholar has a lot of journal articles that are open access, and libraries are great. Free books, can't go wrong. Nowadays, there are also apps like Libby that let you get audiobooks for free from libraries as long as you have a library card. Information has never been more accessible. Truthfully, I think we need to tear down the thinking that learning ends when school ends. Learning should be a lifelong endeavor. Discussion and debate on important topics should be lifelong endeavors. This is one thing I will probably always continue to chase.
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