Before Harding was Unpersoned
In a footnote on previous item I got curious to see if quoting the names of dogs like "Lassie" or "Pepper" was a style rule. I found a Detroit News stylebook written in 1918 that discouraged such quotes, implying that it was a common practice needing a rule.

Elsewhere in the same stylebook:

ETHICS OF THE MARION STAR

Editor Warren G. Harding formulated these rules for the guidance of his reporters:

Remember there are two sides to every question. Get both.

Be truthful. Get the facts. I would rather have one story exactly right than a hundred half wrong.

Be decent. Be fair. Be generous. Boost; don't knock.

Remember there is good in everybody. Bring out the good and never needlessly hurt the feelings of anyone.

In reporting a political gathering, get the facts. Tell the story as it is, not as you would like to have it. Treat all parties alike.

Treat all religious matters reverently.

If it can possibly be avoided, never bring ignominy to an innocent woman or child in telling of the misdeeds or misfortunes of a relative.

Needless to say, the press later broke all of Harding's ethics rules in their coverage of Harding's "unethical" behavior, which was in fact some sneaky deals by one of his cabinet appointees. Sneaky deals happen all the time. They only count when a politician obstructs Deepstate's psychopathic urge to obliterate the universe.

= = = = =

The stylebook has plenty of good advice.

Don't refer to the Darwinian theory or to Dr. Osler's theory without knowing what they mean.

Osler's theory? The name was familiar but I wasn't sure. Turns out Osler was the professor of medicine who established the current system of training for doctors, where they spend 10 years in a 'monastic' situation doing nothing but doctoring 24 hours a day.

Maybe it's time to rethink Osler's theories along with Darwin's. Osler intended to keep doctors focused on the patient, but the result has been the opposite. The intense military teamwork created an intensely orthodox way of thinking, just as the all-volunteer military created an unbreakable mold.

Training by experience unquestionably works vastly better than training by lecture. But a long total immersion breaks contact with ordinary life and rationality, as we're seeing in lethal holocaustal form this year. The long mostly UNPAID immersion also creates a huge debt, forcing a desperate need to seek constant promotion during the short paid part of the career.

The Osler system has spread (in reduced form) to many other branches of science and academia, with similar cultish results.

Training periods for other professions and trades are regular jobs with regular hours AND REGULAR SLEEP, and they manage to create enough experience without forcing cult-like obedience to central authority.

Labels: Equipoise

  ¶ 11:10 PM