Neurologist: Dr. Ben Carson is Not Smart

[trof]

"I’ve followed the phenomenon of Ben Carson’s popularity among the GOP base with a mix of bemusement, irritation, and, like most of you, disbelief. What prompts me to submit my first blog entry is the pervasive misuse of the word “smart” by journalists of all stripes when describing Dr. Carson. We’ve all seen a variation of this point in almost every story: “He is obviously very smart because he is a neurosurgeon but…”. Even journalists I admire confess confusion at how he can be so smart yet harbor such outlandish ideas.
<snip>
"My point is that neurosurgeons are not automatically smart because they are neurosurgeons. To get through training and have any sort of practice they must be disciplined, have immense ego strength, a reasonably good memory, and have mental and physical stamina. However, like many other doctors, they are not always smart. Neurosurgeons, like other surgeons, can be outstanding technicians but that is different than being intellectually brilliant. A truly brilliant internal medicine specialist once told me that “you can train anyone to perform a procedure”. I’ve seen surgical assistants perform technically difficult procedures with stunning alacrity. It’s the old rule: do something enough times and you will get damn good at it.

One feature shared by neurosurgeons far out of proportion to other doctors is a large ego. All doctors can be accused of having big egos but more than other specialists, neurosurgeons- Ben Carson is exhibit 1 in this regard-have pathologically large egos. You know, the kind of ego that requires not one large self-portrait prominently displayed in an ostentatious mansion but a second of Mr. Ego sitting with Jesus; at the right hand of Jesus."

More, and more devastating:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/09/1447844/-Dr-Ben-Carson-is-Not-Smart

[elleng]

1. pathologically large egos!

[n2doc]

2. Having personally known several neurosurgeons I can vouch for the ego part

They were, however, all very smart. They also were nuts, each and every one of them. Not in a dangerous way, but definitely they lived in their own version of reality.

[2naSalit]

3. I know two

and your description is spot on for them too.

[trof]

5. There's one in my 'extended' family. You nailed it.

[maxsolomon]

4. And he's not "nuts", "crazy" or "insane"

He's a 7th Day Adventist which is why he can believe shit that's demonstrably false.

And he's a Narcissist. He reminds me of some Professional Athletes.

[Sinistrous]

19. Your assertion that maxsoloman "identifies" with an eagle

does not follow from the aphorism in his sig line.

Enjoy your stay.

Edit: Dang! He's already gone!

[maxsolomon]

28. I missed it!

What did I do?

Aquila non Capit Muscas has been my sig line since 9/11. "The Eagle does not catch Flies".

[MisterP]

20. they're very close to Jehovah's Witnesses, who're described as more Orwellian than North Korea

OTOH both Adventists and Witnesses have a strong community-service tradition, instead of a "noisy self-service" tradition ...

[world wide wally]

6. Lets consider some other famous doctors:

How about Josef, Mengele, Dr Moriarity, Doc Holiday, and Dr Frankenstein for starters

[world wide wally]

11. Why not?

He compares Obama to Hitler and the ACA to slavery.

Besides that, Mengele and Holiday are real anyway.

[ToxMarz]

16. Doc Holiday was a dentist I think

Can we put Orly Taitz on the list?

[Kali]

15. aww are mean people denigrating Dr. Nutjob?

do you haz a sad?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

12. Rep. Dr. Todd Akin, Rep. Dr. Paul Broun (creationist)

[sakabatou]

13. XD

[Chef Eric]

24. Victor Frankenstein was not a doctor.

He was a student.

The word "doctor" does not appear in Mary Shelley's novel.

[Ghost in the Machine]

32. Doc Holiday?? I wouldn't lump him in with the rest of your cast of Characters..

Most accounts that I have read have stated that Doc Holiday never shot anyone who hadn't drawn on, or shot at, him first. He even tried to warn "Preacher" Wyatt Earp about the dangers of strapping on a gun, then building a reputation with it.... {paraphrasing}'Wyatt, you don't want to get a reputation as a quick draw, and/or someone good with that six-shooter. You'll become a target for every gunslinger from here to the coast who is out to make a name for himself. Take it from me.'

We all know how "legends" of the Old West got puffed up, too. Kind of like calling the Colt .45 the "Peacemaker" that tamed The Wild West, when it was actually the shotgun and the Winchester Carbine...

Peace,

Ghost

[world wide wally]

35. I was just pointing out some famous doctors that we wouldn't consider to be Presidential

material just because they were "doctors". Holiday seemed to fit that category in spite of whatever positive traits he had.

[Hekate]

7. Kick. Rec. Bookmark. Someone finally got it and put it into words. nt

[Kali]

17. you're throwing away your 6 year old account for "the pyramids of Egypt were built to store grain?"

[Whiskeytide]

18. I have a physician friend ...

... who's wife jokingly (but only kinda) describes him as the dumbest smart guy she knows.

There is a difference between being skilled at something that is difficult and taxing - even incredibly skilled at it - and having walking around, common sense intelligence. How many people have been described over the years as being "book smart" but common sense deficient?

[Doc Holliday]

23. When I was a kid

we used to call this phenomenon "smart in school, dumb on the bus."

[Whiskeytide]

27. Exactly. I think Carson is a "textbook" example. n/t

[deathrind]

21. Just because a person...

knows how to build the cross walk sign does not mean they know when it is safe to cross the street.

[SheilaT]

22. Yup. I've known my share of physicians,

and married into a family with three of them. Reasonably bright people, all of them, but the huge blind spot almost every single one has is to think that becoming a doctor made them one of the smartest people on the planet. They tend to think they know lots of stuff about everything there is, when in reality they usually don't. Most of them never read anything outside of medical journals after med school -- understandable give the strong pressure to keep up with new developments in the field. But it makes them rather one-dimensional all too often.

[Paladin]

25. Suspicions confirmed. (nt)

[BlueCaliDem]

26. Carson's big ego is his Achilles Heel. Go after that, and he'll fall to pieces.

And as I watch the media dig into his background and question the authenticity of his statements, my theory on the man's "big ego is his Achilles Heel" is proving correct.

[pnwmom]

29. Yes. They are smart like auto mechanics are smart. That doesn't qualify them for the Presidency.

[world wide wally]

36. My mechanic's car broke down

[mnhtnbb]

30. Neurosurgeons with pathologically large egos?!?

Ha! Right on.

There was a neurosurgeon--from the military--who rented a house on our street for himself, his wife, and
four kids a couple of years ago. He was here doing a one year fellowship at Duke.

The guy was totally obnoxious. He had two HUGE pick-up trucks--which he never re-licensed to NC--
and he insisted on parking one of them on our little dead end lane with limited parking for visitors and left it there for 3 weeks
when he first moved in. At the time, I didn't know it belonged to him. Once we discovered it, we asked him to move it to the street
on the other side of the property he was renting, where it wouldn't take up valued parking space on our little lane.

One day I had an appointment and couldn't get out of our lane. There was an unoccupied moving truck blocking the entire street.
No one around. I honked and honked. Finally got out of the car and started ringing doorbells. What a surprise to find
the people with the truck were inside the neurosurgeon's house. I asked the kid who answered the door to send
the people out to move the truck. Instead, Dr. HOT SHIT comes out and tells me my husband and I are the least
friendly people he's ever met. What an a$$hole! I really had to bite my tongue to keep from saying something nasty
about his need to have big trucks to make up for the size of a tiny appendage. (Yes, we looked each other in the eyeballs
and I stand 5'4".)

You know where he was moving? Wyoming. Good riddance!

[pansypoo53219]

31. he has a specific skill. minute cutting & biology.

[truebluegreen]

33. Thought this for years, of doctors in general

and surgeons in particular. Diagnosticians would be an obvious exception.

As for doctors having large egos: was a ski instructor for many years and doctors were the WORST clients to have, bar none. Couldn't tell them anything, they'd read all the magazines and how-to books etc., they knew it all.

[trof]

34. Neuroguy's definition of 'smart' is the best I've ever read:

“Smart” is a multifaceted cognitive feature composed of excellent analytical skills, possession of an extensive knowledge base that is easily and frequently augmented, possession of a good memory, and being readily curious about the world and willing, even eager, to reject previously accepted notions in the face of new data. Being smart includes having the ability to analyze new data for validity and, thinking creatively, draw new insights from existing common knowledge.

As a neurologist in practice for 20 years and one who has worked closely with many neurosurgeons I can assure you, Dr. Ben Carson does not meet the above criteria. Not even close. He is a painfully ignorant person. This is an easy point to defend. From his statements on the pyramids as grain silos, his rejection of extensive, confirmatory evidence of climate change, to his glaringly unworkable alternative to Medicare, most Americans out of the conservative media bubble are familiar with the litany of uninformed, intellectually shabby statements he has made over the last few months."

[snagglepuss]

38. What agreat definition of "smart." nt

[mentalsolstice]

37. I'm having neurosurgery (brain) next year.

I've had plenty or surgeries over the course of my life, the first when I was 6 yo. So I generally don't sweat "going under the knife." However, Carson and the attention focused on him has me a little wary to say the least!

[Kennah]

39. The guy is FUCKING brilliant!

He removed his own brain and lived, so he has to be.