Welcome to the 5th instalment of ATAR Notes' Ask Me Anything series!
In this edition of AMA, our resident honorary (albeit very active) moderator pi will be taking the reigns and asking any question* that you dare pose. Known for winning the title of "Scariest Moderator" two years in a row (with an honourable mention in the third), pi could definitely be described as an experienced AN user. In fact, pi has been a user on AN for over 6 years, and has the second highest post count on the entire forum. But don't let this dissuade you, his frightening exterior is merely a shell to his squishy and gentle inside.
If you aren't already acquainted, below is a short introduction by pi about himself. Although you're not limited to its content in what you ask, feel free to use it as a guide for topics of potential questions.
Quote
Hullo, pi here! I'm an old-timer here on AN, having been active since 2010! Bit about me: proudly been through public schooling for the entirety of my education, culminating in graduating from Melbourne High School at the end of 2011. Currently studying MBBS(Hons) at Monash University, but having completed four years and all my exams (yay!), decided to take this year off to pursue an Honours research year in neuroradiology before graduating at the end of next year. Neuroradiology is a fairly recent passion of mine I discovered incidentally while proctrastinating last year on a site called Radiopaedia.org (I have no affiliation with it!), a fascinating and surprisingly broad area of medicine with lots of exciting breakthroughs and research!
Outside of my own study, I love chilling with my family and dog, engaging in the art of banter with my mates, teaching the younger Monash and Melbourne clinical medical students where I'm based at, training to be a Pokemon Master while taking walks, watching a bit of sport (cricket, footy, or Prem League), and binge-watching TV shows that I totally paid for. Also, I don't like VCE physics.
Here are some potential topics you may want to ask pi about:
- What is it like studying medicine? Why undergrad instead of post-grad? - How do I prepare for the UMAT? - Regrets in high school/uni - Alternatives to studying medicine - Favourite Pokemon? - What's your favourite aspect of VCE physics?
Without further ado, let's get straight into the action and ask some questions. Please take advantage of this thread while it's still up as the AMAs do not last forever!
*within limits
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: RuiAce on September 21, 2016, 06:53:34 pm
Someone took over the hosting eventually lol.
Q: What is the meaning of life ;)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 06:59:52 pm
Every time I think of the word 'life', I'm reminded by the limited yet emotionally scarring biochem I learnt from this textbook in first year #triggered
That aside, I think the meaning of life is to have fun, contribute to the betterment of everyone, and to be kind. Life should be like this: "What a wonderful kind of day; If we can learn to work and play; And get along with each other".
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HighTide on September 21, 2016, 07:05:19 pm
Pi I've always wanted to know. I've wondered for so long.
Spoiler
Have you started your thesis that's due in like a few days?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 07:10:57 pm
Pi I've always wanted to know. I've wondered for so long.
Spoiler
Have you started your thesis that's due in like a few days?
Thanks for taking an interest in my education HT! Shame the feelings aren't mutual :) #mybanterisbetterthanyours
I've actually written ~130 pages thus far, and am currently doing the discussion section of my thesis. I then have to brush up on a couple more sections and I'll be done! Also, I have 2 weeks left!
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Maz on September 21, 2016, 07:14:27 pm
What's your favourite colour? :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: heids on September 21, 2016, 07:15:58 pm
And why the fuck is it your favourite colour?! o.O
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HughMungus on September 21, 2016, 07:18:36 pm
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: sweetiepi on September 21, 2016, 07:20:15 pm
How many username changes have you lived through on AN?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 07:27:03 pm
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Based on P.A. Paskevich and T.B. Shea (July–August 1995). "The Ability of Woodchucks to Chuck Cellulose Fibers". Annals of Improbable Research. 1 (4): 4–9.
The answer seems to be ~360 cubic cm per day. I agree with that conclusion.
How many username changes have you lived through on AN?
Well...
<redacted> -> VegemitePi -> LovesPhysics -> PhysicsIsAwesome -> ρнуѕικѕ ♥ -> ρнуѕμcκѕ ♥ -> pi -> piε -> pi -> Physicsterio -> 3.142 -> pi -> umatpi -> pi -> Snow Brown -> pi -> qt3.14 -> pi -> pitiably pi -> pi
So all in all, 14 unique names :)
Moderator action: removed real name, sorry for the inconvenience
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HughMungus on September 21, 2016, 07:30:48 pm
What is the medical reason behind HighTide's lack of decent Banter. pi pls respond :D
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 07:35:41 pm
If Hightide was drowning on a beach in front of you and you were the only person that could save him,
What flavour ice cream would you rush off to buy?
LOL I'm a Maxibon fan, love a good 'Bon at the beach. It's the best 'cream around imo. The perfect 'cream to have to watch the waves roll in, HT drowning, the sunset, etc. Makes all those nice things in life so much better :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Work!! on September 21, 2016, 07:49:26 pm
Bit more normal than the previous questions, but when you were studying particularly in Year 12 was there anything out of the ordinary that you did, and you think that worked?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HughMungus on September 21, 2016, 07:51:14 pm
if Hightide was a wart, which part of the body would he spread to first?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: ayesha2011t on September 21, 2016, 07:57:41 pm
Life should be like this: "What a wonderful kind of day; If we can learn to work and play; And get along with each other".
Omg don't know if the Arthur quote was intentional but I got way too excited reading those words out loud.
So my question is, What's your favourite type of pie?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 21, 2016, 07:59:02 pm
How many digits of pi can you recite?
What's your favourite dog breed, and why is it a German Shepherd?
What specialty is interesting you most right now?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: n.a on September 21, 2016, 08:11:16 pm
Hey, I'm going to be a total buzzkill and ask a serious question.
Monash Med vs UniMelb Postgrad Med? Non subjectively please. 😜
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Glasses on September 21, 2016, 08:27:25 pm
Why did you want to study medicine?
Is there an area of medicine that you hate? And if so, why?
If you had to choose, would you rather: a) Attend MHS, and have to complete VCE Physics again. Or b) Attend any other school but MHS, and not have to complete VCE Physics.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: spectroscopy on September 21, 2016, 08:30:03 pm
what are your thoughts on the non mhs/macrob select entry schools?
do you reckon you'll stick around on AN once you start working or will you pull a ninwa on us and officially retire?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 08:39:52 pm
Bit more normal than the previous questions, but when you were studying particularly in Year 12 was there anything out of the ordinary that you did, and you think that worked?
Hey thanks for the non-HighTide related question :) Finally we have a user showing some maturity around here!
Firstly, I think it's important to realise that there really is no "normal", each student will have their own unique experience in year 12. I was fortunate to be in a position where I was in relatively good health and everything at home was pretty good, so I could dedicate as much time as I needed to my studying. I can't even begin to imagine how people get through the year and still do so well with other factors coming into play, those guys are the real unsung heroes!
As for what I did, it was probably less than you think, but I'll run through my subjects:
English: I was a really big fan of reading. Reading my books multiple times, reading high-standard essays (even if not on my books), reading study guides, etc. I really thing a lot can be achieved by just reading. I should put a note here that I was never an amazing English student, I was always around the B/B+ level (since year 7 lol). During the year 11/12 summer holidays, I did a lot of thinking into why I wasn't hitting this higher tier, and I found that the way I was constructing my essays was poor and inefficient. I often included too many irrelevant details and often didn't flesh out my arguments enough to make them powerful. I had two options: write more to improve, or read more to see how the pros went about it, or.. well I could do both, but I'm also lazy, so I chose option #2. And I think it really helped! During the year, I read 100+ essays, and I wrote ~10. For the whole year, including trial exams, I only wrote ~10 essays. Sounds outrageous, but that's what I did and I think it worked quite well. I'm a very big fan of reflecting on what went wrong, taking steps to make it right, and then back yourself to do it. Spending a lot of time reading and just thinking about what quotes I could use to support what topic, were two things I found to be really valuable, and probably do go against the norm of just writing lots of essays. If I had my time again, would I write more? I probably would, but reading and thinking is just as important, if not more important in many regards. I got 44 raw.
Specialist Maths: This was the other subject I put a lot of effort into. I really enjoyed this subject. As is widely known, there's no secret to becoming proficient at VCE maths, you just need to understand what's going on and then do lots of questions. I followed that age-old strategy, opting not to re-invent the wheel. So I did the standard "do all questions from the textbook", learn from mistakes, seek questions from elsewhere if I was struggling with a topic, etc. Those things were all good and everyone should do that. What I also found useful was making use of the bound reference form the get-go. I started to construct mine as I went through the year, adding theory and challenging questions as I went. I found that useful, because I could "revise" maths just by... you guessed it, reading! I could read my bound ref, look at the theory, look at the questions, reaffirm my knowledge. I found that useful, and I think it's underappreciated. I got 40 raw.
Chemistry: Chem was a bit of a let-down to me, I came into it thinking it would be amazing, but it just wasn't as interesting as I'd have hoped. If I could do the course again, I'd make some changes to my tact. But what I did was to basically rock up to class, pay attention, read the textbook if I had any troubles, and then moved onto practice exams. That methodology was perhaps too arrogant. I should have written some notes, to say the least. I felt a lot of my understanding was quite superficial, and although I didn't have trouble with any topic, I probably would have done better had I taken the theory side of it a little more seriously. Practice exams though, are again a gold-mine for chem, great way to brush up on your areas on weakness. A common flaw I found in my VCE was that I didn't do enough prac papers, I probably did <15 for each chem exam I had (we had a mid-year one in 2011). This was probably mostly due to my own laziness, but I think you should be more until you're consistently getting scores you're happy with. I got ok scores, but not great scores, and not sure I was too happy with them. I got low 40s raw (can't remember now lol).
Maths Methods CAS: This subject I treated with little respect. Being a "spesh student", I honestly considered myself a bit "above" for studying for this. This was obviously not the case, but I don't have too many regrets either. I did the hard yards for this subject in units 1/2, I nailed those concepts really well. Given 3/4 is basically 1/2 with different probability (or so it was when I did it), I had little issues with the subject. I learnt probability on the CAS on the go as I did prac papers, consulting the textbook when necessary. This, in retrospect, was a mistake as I only had a superficial understanding of some topics that came back to haunt me in my Exam 2 (eg. conditional prob). Furthermore, again, I didn't do enough prac papers. I probably didn't do any full Exam 2s, mainly due to laziness. Sit down for two hours straight doing maths? No thanks. If I had my time again, I'd slap that child and actually do them. I did however, do plenty of Exam 1s. The reason for that was "if I could do it by hand, obviously I could do it by CAS". And to a great extent, I feel that's true. But it's not completely true, and safe to say I ended up dropping marks on Exam 2. I got raw 46.
Bio: I did this subject in Year 11. This was my first exposure to VCE, and unlike many Year 11s, I barely had any idea of what the ATAR was, what a study score comprised of, how well I needed to do to get a 40+, etc. Safe to say, I didn't put heaps of effort into my first semester and my Exam 1 result was disappointing. I didn't make notes, I hardly did prac papers, it was a disaster. During that term break, I had a lot to reflect on, I needed to save my study score. So I turned my year around, I made notes, I read heaps of study guides, did regular questions, went to revision lectures, made an account on AN (it was 'VN' back then), and I had quite a deep understanding of Unit 4. I think I only dropped a handful of marks in that exam. My advice would be to take this subject seriously, there's a lot of content and you need to be revise regularly. My course, med, is very similar, you can't remember it all the first time, you need to constantly read and re-read and re-re-read. The best thing to read is something you've written yourself, and thus I'd recommend making notes too. I got 42 raw.
Physics: If you know of me on the forum, I really don't like this subject, reasons outlined here. My advice here is a testament to 'studying smart' and NOT 'studying hard'. I literally did no work at all for this subject until the night before the SACs or the exams. How? The cheat-sheet you get in VCE physics makes it possible to do relatively well without understanding anything (providing you have some basic understanding about maths - which I felt I had). If you have a good cheat-sheer that covers most bases, that works when you test it on a handful of past VCAA exams, then I think you're set. Minimal work, maximal gains. This is probably unique to physics. I got 41 raw.
Other studying things: When I studied, I had study goals in mind. I didn't have a timetable, timetables are restrictive and boring. I had the thought of "I won't sleep unless x, y, and z" are done. And even if that meant I got 4 hours sleep because I procrastinated too much, so be it. Important to get things done, and get them done regularly. Something else I found useful was taking Friday nights off. No study at all on Fridays. I continue this throughout uni too. Taking time off is a /good/ thing, we all need time to recharge our batteries, I chose Fridays. Good chance to chill with the fam, watch some footy, have classic Friday night pizza, etc. You should never feel guilty for taking a break, you should feel guilty for procrastinating :P The last thing I found useful, was to not at all dwell on class rankings. I cannot change how someone else is doing, so why bother caring? Just do your own thing. VCE is grueling enough and has enough worries, don't add to those worries by wondering how everyone else's VCEs are going too.
So all-in-all, I think there are a few things that I did that most people don't do enough of: - Reflect on everything. No point marking exams if you're going to improve on what you got wrong. - Reading good quality resources is under-rated. - Do enough prac exams such that you're meeting your goals. Keep doing them until you are, don't settle for less if you don't have to. - Take breaks, but they have to really be breaks. Don't feel guilty about taking breaks, we all need them. - Don't play the numbers game, play the 'do the best I can' game.
Good luck :)
edit: this post turned out to be a lot longer than planned, need to channel this energy into my thesis LOL
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 08:46:28 pm
Going to double-post, but I'm a mod and I live on the edge.
Good question! I'm still a little torn between becoming a physician (ie. medical specialist, eg. neurologist) and a radiologist. I like those because there's a great deal of diagnostic thinking in both fields, which is one of the things I really love about medicine: it's a challenging puzzle and everyone is unique. Luckily I have got a rotation in each field next year, so I'll be able to *hopefully* clear things up more next year. But of the two right now, I'd be leaning towards becoming a physician, and in particular, neurology or rheumatology.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 09:05:57 pm
Monash Med vs UniMelb Postgrad Med? Non subjectively please.
Good question. I've gotten to know the UoM course quite well this year as I take some MD students for weekly tutes (I'm based at one of their clinical schools this year).
I think each has their merits. Without getting into the nitty-gritty of each course, here are some points to note:
Monash: - If you want to do med after yr12, why wait? This is the course for you. 5 short snappy years, good uni, good teaching, very strong cohort. It's often said that the crème de la crème of VCE come to Monash medicine, and that's hard to argue with. - Requires the UMAT. This test is dodgy. Lots of people who are genuinely intelligent people and would make great medical students, don't do well. Does this mean they're not suited for medicine? Of course not, it just means that perhaps on that particular day, their mind and the UMAT didn't tick in time. And that's ok. There's a fair big of luck involved in getting into Monash med. - The 2 year pre-clin + 3 year clin strikes a nice balance. But I think a lot of students lose a lot of pre-clin knowledge as it isn't integrated well into the clinical years, especially anatomy and physiology. I believe the new MD model changes that in some regard, but I don't know much about it. - Pre-clin years are in Clayton. Clayton is a hole. It's isolated, takes 30 mins to get to from the CBD, and has the Menzies. Not ideal. - The cohort can be competitive, especially towards the end of fourth year. Expect this in any medical degree.
UoM: - If you're not sure on med, taking the graduate pathway is the way for you. You get to dabble in the theory you go into in med, learn many concepts in more depth. That's a good thing, essentially gives you a couple extra pre-clin years. The UoM MD is essentially the crème de la crème of Biomed students, one could argue perhaps their cohort is inherently weaker than Monash because many didn't get into Monash, but I'd argue: who cares? We don't know why they didn't get in, and it doesn't matter. Both cohorts are strong in their own right. - Requires the GAMSAT. I'm led to believe there is less luck involved in this test, it rewards effort. That's good for many people who weren't great at the UMAT. - Course structure of 1 + 3 (or 2.5)... not a fan. You'd assume that MD1s retain a lot of knowledge from their Biomed/Sci degrees, I don't think this is the case in real life. I find that although they learnt a lot about x, y and z, they didn't learn to connect those different topics, and thus, knowledge was forgotten easily. Hence, most people don't find MD1 the walk in the park it should be. It's a tough year. Their clinical years have a similar structure to Monash, it's a good one. - You're based next to the CBD, brilliant location! - From most accounts, the Biomed cohort can get a bit savage, especially when it comes to the GAMSAT. Heard too many stories supporting that claim for me to believe it would be possible to avoid that atmosphere throughout the degree. You'll probably encounter it at some point. I don't like that. This is less-so at Monash.
So that's my run-down. Each course has pros and cons, but wouldn't be up to me to say which is /better/. Monash was better for me because I knew what I wanted.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HughMungus on September 21, 2016, 09:09:18 pm
What in the name of all that is holy, made you study physics, the love of your life at MHS???? Was it the bad influence of HT?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: n.a on September 21, 2016, 09:16:31 pm
Good question. I've gotten to know the UoM course quite well this year as I take some MD students for weekly tutes (I'm based at one of their clinical schools this year).
I think each has their merits. Without getting into the nitty-gritty of each course, here are some points to note:
Monash: - If you want to do med after yr12, why wait? This is the course for you. 5 short snappy years, good uni, good teaching, very strong cohort. It's often said that the crème de la crème of VCE come to Monash medicine, and that's hard to argue with. - Requires the UMAT. This test is dodgy. Lots of people who are genuinely intelligent people and would make great medical students, don't do well. Does this mean they're not suited for medicine? Of course not, it just means that perhaps on that particular day, their mind and the UMAT didn't tick in time. And that's ok. There's a fair big of luck involved in getting into Monash med. - The 2 year pre-clin + 3 year clin strikes a nice balance. But I think a lot of students lose a lot of pre-clin knowledge as it isn't integrated well into the clinical years, especially anatomy and physiology. I believe the new MD model changes that in some regard, but I don't know much about it. - Pre-clin years are in Clayton. Clayton is a hole. It's isolated, takes 30 mins to get to from the CBD, and has the Menzies. Not ideal. - The cohort can be competitive, especially towards the end of fourth year. Expect this in any medical degree.
UoM: - If you're not sure on med, taking the graduate pathway is the way for you. You get to dabble in the theory you go into in med, learn many concepts in more depth. That's a good thing, essentially gives you a couple extra pre-clin years. The UoM MD is essentially the crème de la crème of Biomed students, one could argue perhaps their cohort is inherently weaker than Monash because many didn't get into Monash, but I'd argue: who cares? We don't know why they didn't get in, and it doesn't matter. Both cohorts are strong in their own right. - Requires the GAMSAT. I'm led to believe there is less luck involved in this test, it rewards effort. That's good for many people who weren't great at the UMAT. - Course structure of 1 + 3 (or 2.5)... not a fan. You'd assume that MD1s retain a lot of knowledge from their Biomed/Sci degrees, I don't think this is the case in real life. I find that although they learnt a lot about x, y and z, they didn't learn to connect those different topics, and thus, knowledge was forgotten easily. Hence, most people don't find MD1 the walk in the park it should be. It's a tough year. Their clinical years have a similar structure to Monash, it's a good one. - You're based next to the CBD, brilliant location! - From most accounts, the Biomed cohort can get a bit savage, especially when it comes to the GAMSAT. Heard too many stories supporting that claim for me to believe it would be possible to avoid that atmosphere throughout the degree. You'll probably encounter it at some point. I don't like that. This is less-so at Monash.
So that's my run-down. Each course has pros and cons, but wouldn't be up to me to say which is /better/. Monash was better for me because I knew what I wanted.
Brilliant, thanks! 😊
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 09:17:26 pm
I think many aspects, but it comes down to what I like. Medicine, for me, ticks these three boxes: 1. I love people: understanding what makes them 'them', their stories, their families; meeting new people all the time is a variety that keeps life forever interesting and unique 2. I love learning: call me a nerd (like anyone on AN can talk!) but I like to learn about things, I like having the freedom to learn things in the depth that I want at the pace that I want, especially things that are dynamic and and can impact on my first passion (ie. people); I also love to teach and pass on my own knowledge (for free (which is why I am here and did things like VCESS), none of this tutoring crap!), and the word "doctor" actually stems from "docere" in Latin which means "to teach" - perfect! 3. I love puzzles: I like being challenged and the diagnostic challenge is the ultimate puzzle in my opinion, as it combines my passions for people and learning
Sure, other factors are important: - Pay: being paid fairly well to do something I love? awesome, added bonus! - Breadth of opportunities: there are so many options of where my degree can take me, anything from looking down microscopes, to cutting into people's brains, to delivering babies, to giving life changing advice to someone, to guiding public policy, etc. - Rewarding: there's nothing more rewarding than having the opportunity to help someone understand what is going on with them
The reason those factors aren't as important.. is because I think they are common to many professions? To me, they're not unique.
How did I end up in this path? A combination of three things: supportive parenting, supportive schooling, and luck. I like lists, so here's another list elaborating: 1. I was fortunate to have parents that realised my interest in academia at a young age, and nudged me in the right direction here and there during my early years. They'd buy me science books (I was actually particularly interested in paleontology at one point haha), I'd be encouraged to watch docos on TV, participate in science competitions, etc. I should note that no one in my family is a doctor, and my parents were both educators. They never pushed me towards medicine, they'd be happy if I was a dentist, engineer, actuary, etc, just as long as I was doing something that I would enjoy, perhaps they knew me better than I knew myself in those early years hahaha. 2. I couldn't hope for a better education, public schooling through and through. I started off in the westside at my local primary school, I didn't learn much academia there, but I learnt a lot about people and how to deal with them (being the only non-Caucasian in my year and never once getting bashed or bullied is a badge I wear proudly!). During my secondary years, my time at both UHS and MHS was perfect. I developed most of my more specific interests (ie. ditching the idea of digging up dinosaurs LOL) during my early years at UHS, they had a fabulous science program there and I was in a group of like-minded individuals in the Accelerated Program. This continued when I ultimately moved to MHS, where I found a perfect cohort where everyone wanted to do well in all sorts of areas of life. I think I thrived in that environment, I enjoyed it thoroughly and it allowed me to really suss out different subjects and career pathways. 3. My luck was three-fold. Firstly, I was lucky to do work experience in a hospital, the Royal Children's. It was an amazing experience, one that probably drew me away from other career paths. What I saw happen there was honestly inspirational, I can't ever remember smiling when I was sick as a kid, and here there were kids who were much sicker than I ever was and the doctors would always leave the room with them smiling. Who wouldn't want to do that every day? (I'm actually not that keen on paediatrics now, but that's a story for another day haha). My second instance of luck came during the UMAT. I don't think I did enough prep but somehow I scraped through and got a half-decent score. That's not to say I guessed my way through it, but perhaps if I put more priority on it and did more study I could have done better (or perhaps not? who knows, it's a funny test!). The last "luck" I had was that I had the worst physics teaching known to human-kind, it completely ruled out, in my mind, the thought of doing anything mathsy with my life (also I'm severely deficient of any talent!) for fear of turning into my physics teachers at age 50. Terrifying prospect.
Having gone through most of the course now (no more exams left for me!) and spending hours on the wards talking to doctors, I have absolutely no regrets with my path thus far. In fact, I'm excited for every next day, week, month, year. I think this speaks more towards as to how lame I am, but even last night I was thinking "can't wait to read about the MRI findings of cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (fantastic condition, look it up!) and see how it compares to other ischaemic white matter conditions", and I was not disappointed ;) I can't wait for the rigors and study of physician training (if I indeed do choose to travel that path). I can't wait for the next best thing to happen!
My advice to school-leavers who are confused, is to talk to people. You're only 17/18 years old, you're not supposed to make these decisions alone, and you shouldn't make these decisions alone. Talk to your parents, talk to uni students, talk to your teachers (you'd be surprised how awesome teachers can become when they're not talking about the boring VCE), talk to people working where you see yourself possibly working. Send out emails to people in the field to get opinions, the worst that happens is that they don't respond, the best that happens is that they give you life-changing advice (but don't spam people, that's not cool). Try and get work experience, the more the merrier. Attend Open Days, get a feel for what the course will be like, and what the job prospects are like.
Be keen, be enthusiastic, and keep an open mind about what people say to you.
tldr: talk to people, more the merrier!
edit: Damn that became long, I was intending to write a small para, oops... It also seems I like organising things into "threes", perhaps speaking more of my OCD traits than anything else!
Is there an area of medicine that you hate? And if so, why?
Surgery. It's an absolute bore. Once I got over the whole "omg this is so cool" factor, there was nothing that I was passionate about. Standing still for long periods of time has also never been something I've aimed to do either. I have a huge respect for people who go down that pathway, because it's not easy, but it's also not for me. :)
If you had to choose, would you rather: a) Attend MHS, and have to complete VCE Physics again. Or b) Attend any other school but MHS, and not have to complete VCE Physics.
Probably B, providing I could go to Melb Grammar ;)
what are your thoughts on the non mhs/macrob select entry schools?
I love the concept and I think there should be more of them. For too long in Victoria, those who were passionate about learning and weren't in a selective school or accelerated program, were in the minority. That needs to change. No one should be bullied or feel alone because they want to learn or do well, those people should be supported. The best way I think this could be achieved, failing a major re-haul of teaching staff across the state, would be to provide more selective schools that can cater for their needs.
Furthermore, I think we need selective schools that are also more humanities based. For some reason, when someone thinks of a "smart person", they think of someone who got 99.95 and inevitable did "hard" subjects like Spesh. We need people to be thinking about those who get there doing languages and commerce in the same way. Those students are also brilliant and deserve the same recognition and opportunities to succeed. I thus propose we demolish JMSS and replace it with a humanities school ;)
edit: realised I didn't exactly answer your question. I think many of the non MHS/Mac.Rob schools are quite good! I've particularly heard many good things about Nossal, and the people I know from there are really nice :) As many would know, I'm not a big fan of JMSS, not because of their academic performance, but because their students are annoying af in Monash libraries and the 601 bus. Also I'm a strong believer that a school needs to own their own oval lol. But anyway, I was once confronted by the school captain of JMSS some years ago while I was in the library, and we had a constructive discussion about their students' behaviour, apparently I'm quite infamous there hahahahaha
What in the name of all that is holy, made you study physics, the love of your life at MHS???? Was it the bad influence of HT?
I thought it would be about explosions and quantum theory... I found out it was about counting boxes under a linear line and using V=IR a millions times. Big disappointment.
Thankfully for my sanity and cardiac health, I have not known HT for that long,
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Gogo14 on September 21, 2016, 09:22:54 pm
Not doing so well this yr, (in yr 11). I barely, procrastinate and always hand in assignments late. How can I lift my game for next yr?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Swagadaktal on September 21, 2016, 09:25:15 pm
Hey Pi,
was there any point where you were like "I'm getting in (to med)" or were you as anxious as hell leading up to the interview and throughout the year?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 09:32:28 pm
Not doing so well this yr (11). I barely, procrastinate and always hand in assignments late. How can I lift my game for next yr?
Sorry to hear that mate! I think the answers lies within you, not with me! This is my advice: you need to sit down with a piece of paper, physically write down everything that is stopping you from reaching your goals. Take some time to do this, good 30mins or so if you need to. Think about the resources you have, think about your study space, etc. Reflect, that's important. Once you're done, under each item, write how you're going to fix that. eg. if you said "I use FB too much", you could propose the solution "don't use social media between 5 and 8pm". Another example might be "I'm handing my assignments in late", the solution could be "I'm not going to accept that any more and I won't sleep until they're done" (you'll get the message after one near-sleepless night, trust me). Stick that list up on your wall, somewhere where you can't miss it. Remind yourself that you know how to improve and that you can be better. Now, not every problem has a clear-cut solution, but many will. And solving each problem helps, each may have a small benefit individually, but they add up together. And that all helps.
Given you're in year 11 now, I'd also have one eye on the holidays. Holidays are a good chance to do lots of work, or do shit all. I think striking a balance between the two is ideal, work hard, but not too hard. Do 1-2 hours a day (especially looking over knowledge that is assumed for Year 12), read your English books twice, but have time to catch up with mates, watch the cricket, etc. You can really set your year up your year with some work in the holidays.
Sorry that was a vague response, but this is really individual! Gl! :)
was there any point where you were like "I'm getting in (to med)" or were you as anxious as hell leading up to the interview and throughout the year?
I don't tend to get anxious about really anything, so that played in my favour. But I was never sure until i saw VTAC. Even people who get 99.95 and 100%ile often say they feel unsure, one might scoff about it, but I believe them, you can never be sure. And that's obviously a little stressful, but it should be reassuring to realise everyone feels the same way.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HughMungus on September 21, 2016, 09:33:45 pm
Jack Daniels or Smirnhoff Vodka? Pls explain your choice ;)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 09:37:03 pm
I've been told it looks like a dark fox with white eyes haha, but that's far from the reality.
It's actually a picture of my favourite brain MRI sign: the infamous "mickey mouse sign" of the midbrain (part of the brainstem), which can be associated with a neurological condition called 'progressive supranuclear palsy' - basically think of Parkinson's with some visual problems and faster dementia - not good. The image itself I got from here (one of my fav sites!) https://radiopaedia.org/cases/progressive-supranuclear-palsy-with-mickey-mouse-sign-1
I have nothing to say about this fabled 'grip' and anything and everything that it may or may not connote.
From what I hear, you also have a firm grip pi. How has your understanding of VCE physics helped in increasing the force of friction to achieve such a milestone?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 10:17:58 pm
From what I hear, you also have a firm grip pi. How has your understanding of VCE physics helped in increasing the force of friction to achieve such a milestone?
If only you had a similarly strong grip on life...
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HighTide on September 21, 2016, 10:21:27 pm
Perhaps you and zsteve can test each others firm grips to see who's better. #ANGripOff
Oh you'd like to watch that, wouldn't you? ;)
Some serious questions would be nice too :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 21, 2016, 10:32:13 pm
I'm a cool guy, so I'll ask some more questions.
1) What is the most interesting thing you have studied in medicine so far? 2) You can only visit one country. Where would you like to visit, and why? 3) WhatI's your favourite recipe? (I know a few uni students, microwavable Mac 'n Cheese doesn't count)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: sweetiepi on September 21, 2016, 10:33:50 pm
If you were to ship any two people, who would those two be?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 10:46:20 pm
1) What is the most interesting thing you have studied in medicine so far?
Most interesting thing I've studied would have to be neurology. Every time you think you've got a grasp on a concept... you realise how much you don't know, and how much no one knows. It's fascinating, and certainly not in isolation in being a topic we need to understand better.
However I think the most interesting thing about medicine isn't any particular topic: it's the patient. Every patient is unique with their own story, and you can learn a lot by asking the right questions and taking the time to listen. Every story is interesting, and I never know what the next story will be about. That's what's truly interesting about what I get to do! :)
If you were to ship any two people on ATAR Notes, who would those two be?
Easy one. The fingers HT uses to type, and his brain, the two don't seem to be well connected!
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: tashhhaaa on September 21, 2016, 11:18:57 pm
couple of questions:
1) How do you balance uni work and real life/how do you maintain good grades in a gruelling course like yours? 2) Would you try to dissuade someone from pursuing medicine, and if so, why? 3) If you couldn't be a doctor because you didn't get into the course or some other reason, which career would you pursue that would be equally as fulfilling?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 21, 2016, 11:44:34 pm
1) How do you balance uni work and real life/how do you maintain good grades in a gruelling course like yours?
Well firstly I don't claim to have amazing grades haha. With the risk of sounding like an ungrateful humblebraggart, my grades do put me in the top quartile of my year, but they probably should have been a bit better if I did a few things differently over the years. So my grades are *ok*, but certainly not amazing by any definition :P
I think the most important things in uni are the following (not sure how many are specifically relevant to you!):
1) Find a study strategy that works for you. I kid you not, but it took me 3 semesters to find what worked for me, especially because I was so lackadaisical in my approach to VCE. I tried making lecture summaries, tried reading textbooks, tried hand-writing notes, tried annotating lecture slides, tried flash cards, etc. In the end I found something that worked for me, and it made the rest of the years much easier. I think a lot of people get worried that they haven't acclimatised to uni as easily as the next person, and that's understandable, but it's really /ok/ to be lost for a year or so. As long as you keep at it, it will work out eventually, and life becomes considerably easier.
2) Take breaks when you need to and have mandatory days off. As I said earlier in this thread, I took Fridays off. Even when times got tough, I made it my time to do everything non-academic. I found that to be a good chance to assess where I was, reflect on what happened in the week, and take my mind elsewhere. Recharging your batteries is important.
3) Hate to harp on about this, but I found reflecting on stuff really helps. If I just sat an exam, I'd think about it afterwards. Why didn't I know the answer to Question 12 or 23, what went wrong. Why did it go wrong. How can I not make that mistake again. I accept I'll never be perfect or the best, I know that, but that doesn't mean I can't be better. Just taking some time out to think about how I can be better is helpful.
4) Have regular social events and/or chats. During third year I had a 21st or two on every weekend - that was great, plenty of time to catch up with people on a regular basis and do something non-academic. In other years... there aren't many 'organised' social gatherings to bring the squad together. So some initiative is good. One thing I find to be useful and great, is to have friends who don't do what I do. I have a great group of mates, who I actually met on AN years ago, that do all sorts of non-med courses (or rather, 'did', as some have graduated), and we meet up regularly and chat on a fb group chat daily. Having a broader group of friends is good because it forces me to not talk about my course. The last thing I want to do after a long day of study is talk to mates who want to talk about studying... Legit that's the worst thing. I 'use' socialising as a chance to have some fun that's completely unrelated to med, and I think that helps balancing things.
5) I'm a big fan of 'knowledge > grades'. I'm happy if I can back myself to know things, if that translates into decent grades then that's fantastic, but grades are secondary to be becoming a knowledgeable and safe doctor. Perhaps it's hard not to have an eye on grades if seeking graduate-entry courses that need high GPAs/WAMs, but I think it takes a lot of the pressure off if you don't focus on it. I came into my course knowing that I was in the bottom 25%, so from the outset I knew that working my way up was going to be hard, heck it could be impossible for me to keep up with all these VCE beasts around me. So why not just enjoy the fact that I'm here and enjoy learning cool new things? That's my philosophy to studying in uni :)
Not sure if any of that answered your question haha
2) Would you try to dissuade someone from pursuing medicine, and if so, why?
Wouldn't dissuade, but I'd warn people of the following: it's hard and is getting harder. Getting into med is the easy part, graduating is a little harder, the hard part is when you're a doctor. The number of consultant/boss jobs aren't increasing despite the fact that the number of medical graduates has been increasing at an alarming rate for the past two decades. This means we have a bottle neck, and not enough senior jobs for junior doctors. This is a disaster because doctors aren't trained to be anything else, we're not like commerce grads who have skills in multiple areas, we literally have no other skills. The vast majority don't even have proper research skills. So be warned of the career prospects, you might have a job for the first few years out of uni, but don't expect that to be the case for long. There's a fantasy many have of med being a 'sure thing' once you get in, that is what it is - a fantasy. It couldn't be further form the truth. Know what you're signing up for, because in 10-15 years time, it could be Centrelink benefits.
3) If you couldn't be a doctor because you didn't get into the course or some other reason, which career would you pursue that would be equally as fulfilling?
My back-up uni course was Biomed/Engineering. If I didn't get into graduate-entry med, I'd probably continue the path of becoming some sort of engineer. I've always had a passion, but perhaps not much talent, for maths. So I think I'd enjoy engineering. Whether it would be equally fulfilling? I'm sure it would be, albeit in different ways. I'd say nearly every career has their dull and their fulfilling moments, even lawyers! :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: tashhhaaa on September 22, 2016, 12:01:07 am
cheers for the reply, ur my idol
for real hahaha :')
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: n.a on September 22, 2016, 05:53:50 pm
Question. How did you stay motivated throughout the year, and especially under exam stress?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 22, 2016, 09:14:18 pm
Question. How did you stay motivated throughout the year, and especially under exam stress?
I keep things interesting. I think this is a good way to stay motivated, but is it a good way to get the best marks...? Probably not. Two examples.
Uni: Now medicine is interesting, but I don't find it all equally interesting. There are some conditions which just aren't that fascinating to me, but they're core conditions to know about so I have to sit down and learn about them one day. So what I do is to everyday learn about something cool, which to me, is usually some rare af condition that has something weird about it. Mixing it up in this way keeps me motivated, as I'm never bored. If you can somehow study without becoming bored, ie. actually enjoy what you're doing all the time, you can never lose motivation. This way, studying becomes something to look forward to, rather than a chore.
School: As per my previous essay-length post, it's clear what I did in school was to basically neglect subjects (eg. VCE physics) that I just didn't find interesting or felt weren't worth improving in. And as I've said in that thread, there's certainly plenty wrong with that strategy and it's not a tact I'd recommend anyone try and mimic, but it did ensure that I didn't become bored. As I spent the vast majority of my time on Spesh and English, those times when I did decide to pick up a Chem or a Methods textbook were easy, because I knew when that was done I could get back to something interesting or worth it.
So all in all, the common theme is if you can keep things interesting, you won't become bored, and you won't lose motivation. For me, I kept the theory interesting, mixing up the dull stuff with the cool stuff and using the latter as a reward for getting through the former. But that's just me, I'm sure if you had an interesting study technique or something else as well, it'd work just as well.
Touching upon exam stress, as I've said earlier, I'm luckily not really the type to get anxious about studying. At least, not any more than nerves just the morning before like anyone else; I'm usually quite calm and collected throughout the year. The keys to this, I think, come back to the fundamentals of my study technique (see reply to tashhhaaa), especially: having a study method that works, taking breaks when I want without feeling guilty, not talking about studying after I've done with it, and having a focus on knowledge rather than primarily marks. I'd think it would be quite difficult to adopt that study philosophy during year 12, especially at this part of the year, and I certainly had a strong focus on marks throughout year 12 (especially in English). But having grown up a tad, I think it's certainly more healthy to think about marks as a reward that will inevitably come with the learning, and if you focus on the learning and worry about the learning, the marks will come in time. Probably advice that's more applicable to what I'm specifically doing in uni, but I'm sure the notion of 'knowledge > marks' could be weaved into an approach to any course.
If there's one thing I've taken away from school, it was our unofficial motto "more than just marks". What's more? Your mental health, your physical health, those close to you, and knowledge.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: sweetiepi on September 22, 2016, 09:18:14 pm
Who do you think is going to win the Grand Final (AFL)?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 22, 2016, 09:22:52 pm
Who do you think is going to win the Grand Final (AFL)?
Last week I would have got away with 'anyone but Hawthorn' haha.
Have soft spots for the Cats and Dogs given i was brought up in the westside of Melb, so either of those would be good I guess. It'd be criminal if GWS won a flag just a few years after being formed hahaha.
Having said that, I'm a Dons fan (inb4 injecting drug jokes), so I'm just hoping for a three good games to end the year :D
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: nerdgasm on September 22, 2016, 10:15:50 pm
How may I reach the number of posts and forum respect that you currently have before I turn 80?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: zhen on September 22, 2016, 10:38:17 pm
Did you have the infamous Mr Keyte for physics in year 11 or 12? Also, in year 11 during the lead up to VCE exams, did you focus wholeheartedly on your year 11 unit 3 and 4 subject or did you try to balance your time between all your subjects.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 22, 2016, 10:54:03 pm
How may I reach the number of posts and forum respect that you currently have before I turn 80?
Finally someone is asking me about what matters: how to hoard as much respect as possible
Pi's shameless mini-guide to raking in the respect
Have a few posts first so people know who you are, and be liberal with your own upvotes, people are more likely to upvote you if you upvote them!
Post relevant memes in boards that still have respect, especially in threads with high levels of activity (eg. Class of 201X threads), depending on the dankness and spiciness of the meme, could be a +3 to +20
Post anything against HighTide or any other controversial member, easy +3
If you feel like getting into a cheeky argument with someone, always include smileys, helps to diffuse the situation and people are more likely to think you're on the right side and are more likely to upvote you
Post anything about medicine or UMAT, someone's always interested in that stuff on AN haha
Post "Resource" threads, guaranteed +10
Post "Good luck" threads (eg. for exams, GAT, UMAT, offers, any other occasion), guaranteed +15
Post "Motivation" threads (eg. 'Only two weeks left, you can do this!'), guaranteed +10 and you can follow it up with a "Good luck" thread later too to reap all that sweet respect
Post long replies, it doesn't even have to make sense after a while because no ones reads them after a couple of paragraphs unless they're particularly interested, usually nets +5 without fail, even more if they sound deep and philosophical
Volunteer for an "AMA", I've gained a fair bit of respect here haha
Hang around long enough to become a mod, I've found people upvote me sometimes for no good reason other than I'm a mod, even if someone said the exact same thing as me in a previous post, it's bizarre
I guess the last thing you could do, if desperate, is to actually help people with maths questions etc on the forum, if you're lucky you'll get a +2, great benefit for the community (or rather, that one person you're helping), for very little respect reward; I remember when i used to do that haha
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 22, 2016, 11:03:01 pm
Did you have the infamous Mr Keyte for physics in year 11 or 12? Also, in year 11 during the lead up to VCE exams, did you focus wholeheartedly on your year 11 unit 3 and 4 subject or did you try to balance your time between all your subjects.
I had some very infamous physics teachers in MHS, for their privacy and because I think they were still good people, I won't name names.
I really balanced my units. Perhaps right at the end of the year (term 4 + SWOTVAC), it would be foolish to not prioritise your 3/4 because it actually counts, but I think in the rest of the year, there's no need. Despite this being a fairly unpopular opinion on AN and probably also at MHS too, I say this for three main reasons:
1) Having a good fundamental understanding from 1/2 can set you up for an easy Year 12. This is particularly true in Methods, English, and Chem. You don't want to be spending the summer break or Year 12 picking up basic concepts that is assumed knowledge that should have been mastered last year, it just wastes time and the pressure starts to build up. Having a solid foundation is a good thing and is often under-rated.
2) Studying for 5-6 subjects consistently in Year 11 is good preparation for doing the same thing in Year 12. Again, you don't want to spend part of Year 12 toying around with new study techniques because you spent the vast majority of your time last year on one subjects. This again is a foundation, but not one of subject theory, it's one of study technique.
3) Something I found useful in school and uni was to 'keep things interesting'. I can't think of anything less so than really focusing study on one subject, I mean let's be honest, VCE isn't that interesting haha. Having a variety of things to study makes it easier to stay interested, and thus, motivated.
Good luck and honour the work! :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: heids on September 23, 2016, 12:36:37 pm
That guide... The best thing I've ever seen you write. Cynicism and sneakiness ftw.
(http://i.imgur.com/w8e3WZ4.png)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 23, 2016, 12:45:09 pm
I refuse to upvote that guide, I feel betrated
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 23, 2016, 01:54:25 pm
Were Timon and Pumba the real antagonists of the popular 90s classic, The Lion King?
I have never considered them to be antagonists.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: n.a on September 23, 2016, 02:49:01 pm
Do you think there will still be prospects for doctors in the future, in light of the technological advancements of today that threaten to make humans redundant?
That is to say, is it useless for me to study medicine if I'm going to be replaced by a robot in the near, not so distant future?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 23, 2016, 03:53:04 pm
Do you think there will still be prospects for doctors in the future, in light of the technological advancements of today that threaten to make humans redundant?
That is to say, is it useless for me to study medicine if I'm going to be replaced by a robot in the near, not so distant future?
Great question. I'm going to ramble a bit, so bear with me.
I think there's always going to be room for the human doctor. I'm a big believer of the patient-doctor relationship - it's a unique relationship that is therapeutic in and of itself. There's always going to be a role for the ritual that takes place in a doctor's clinic: the first impressions, the history, the physical examination, the explanation, the management. This ritual relies on several things that a robot can't do: 1. A human-to-human understanding and the human touch (highly recommend this short TED talk by Stanford physician Abraham Verghese); 2. The ability to integrate all aspects of a patient to the betterment of the their health; 3. The ability to see each patient as unique.
I went to a Neurosciences Symposium recently, and there was a fascinating talk about neurorehabilitation in patients who have had a stroke ('heart attack' of the brain). The speaker described these robots they have introduced to their neurorehab ward that seek out patients to help them perform exercises, just like a physio would, but for a fraction of the cost. But why did they still employ the same number of physios? The human-to-human understanding and the human touch. These factors in themselves are inherently therapeutic, as has been well documented in medical literature, and can't be replaced so easily. I was later told by a prominent neurosurgeon over lunch that in Japan, they've found introducing robotic dogs (that look like real dogs) have had some benefit in Aged Care centers. But whether we could have a robot 'looking like a doctor/physio/nurse' to replace their role... that sounds unlikely to me.
Having said that, what role do robots have in medicine? There are certainly specialties that are at more risk of being made redundant. For example, there is a lot of work being done to have computers interpret x-rays, CTs, MRIs, and other imaging modalities through use of complex algorithms and pattern recognition, which could potentially replace Radiologists. This is worrying for them, especially with the breakthroughs in technology that can actually learn and improve (eg. the computer that plays Go and beat the world champ). However, these breakthroughs have limitations. A good case in point is the interpretation of electocardiograms (ECGs/EKGs). The machines that do the ECG often generate its own interpretation, and often it picks up all these subtleties, but the difference is: it doesn't have access to the patient to correlate some squiggly lines to the patient's clinical presentation. Thus, it often misses the bigger picture. Human doctors though, they have the benefit of having both the patient and the investigation in front of them. This is something robots just cannot do so well.
My final thought on this comes back to a question many AN'ers may be dwelling upon as we approach med interview season: what does it really mean to be a 'doctor'? Whilst many of us may scoff at the ridiculousness of that question, and assume the answer is something about treating patients, saving lives, or something along those glamorous lines, I think those responses miss the mark a bit. Doctor is said to derive from the Latin "docēre", which actually means "to teach". It doesn't mean "to heal", or "to cure", or "to save"; it means "to teach". And that's the third thing that I don't think robots can do so well. Do patients just want a diagnosis and a drug? No, what they want is to understand what's going on with their body, they want to be taught these things. And each patient is unique in that regard, they've all got different levels of education, they've all got different expectations, they've all got different concerns, they're all unique. It's the doctor's role to adapt to that uniqueness. As the Father of Modern Medicine Hippocrates once said (translated), "It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has". Two-and-a-half thousand years on, that quote still has a lot of relevance to medicine.
I think medicine today is still similar to that depicted by Luke Fildes in his 1891 painting The Doctor, as shown above on the left. Here we have a doctor looking over a child, the child has TB and is inevitably going to pass away (treatment for this condition was not yet discovered!), but we can see clearly the patient has the doctor's undivided attention, and the doctor is thinking deeply about what to do next. The doctor, the patient, and the patient's family probably all know what is going to happen, but there's still a silent and powerful understanding between everyone present that everything that can be done is being done. This is demonstrated again in the picture on the right, which shows Sir William Osler, one of his four famous photographs at the bedside, in "contemplation". A robot can't do these things. There's just no connection it can make that could be as powerful and meaningful as the one between the doctor and the patient. Many would argue that giving these doctors a desk with a computer and too much paperwork would be a better representation of medicine today, and I'd agree, but the essence of Fildes' work and Osler's approach are still very much relevant and still forms the backbone of what medicine is all about, and what it should be all about.
So I think we can safely say that something like this is probably out of the question :P
Great question. I'm going to ramble a bit, so bear with me.
I think there's always going to be room for the human doctor. I'm a big believer of the patient-doctor relationship - it's a unique relationship that is therapeutic in and of itself. There's always going to be a role for the ritual that takes place in a doctor's clinic: the first impressions, the history, the physical examination, the explanation, the management. This ritual relies on several things that a robot can't do: 1. A human-to-human understanding and the human touch (highly recommend this short TED talk by Stanford physician Abraham Verghese); 2. The ability to integrate all aspects of a patient to the betterment of the their health; 3. The ability to see each patient as unique.
I went to a Neurosciences Symposium recently, and there was a fascinating talk about neurorehabilitation in patients who have had a stroke ('heart attack' of the brain). The speaker described these robots they have introduced to their neurorehab ward that seek out patients to help them perform exercises, just like a physio would, but for a fraction of the cost. But why did they still employ the same number of physios? The human-to-human understanding and the human touch. These factors in themselves are inherently therapeutic, as has been well documented in medical literature, and can't be replaced so easily. I was later told by a prominent neurosurgeon over lunch that in Japan, they've found introducing robotic dogs (that look like real dogs) have had some benefit in Aged Care centers. But whether we could have a robot 'looking like a doctor/physio/nurse' to replace their role... that sounds unlikely to me.
Having said that, what role do robots have in medicine? There are certainly specialties that are at more risk of being made redundant. For example, there is a lot of work being done to have computers interpret x-rays, CTs, MRIs, and other imaging modalities through use of complex algorithms and pattern recognition, which could potentially replace Radiologists. This is worrying for them, especially with the breakthroughs in technology that can actually learn and improve (eg. the computer that plays Go and beat the world champ). However, these breakthroughs have limitations. A good case in point is the interpretation of electocardiograms (ECGs/EKGs). The machines that do the ECG often generate its own interpretation, and often it picks up all these subtleties, but the difference is: it doesn't have access to the patient to correlate some squiggly lines to the patient's clinical presentation. Thus, it often misses the bigger picture. Human doctors though, they have the benefit of having both the patient and the investigation in front of them. This is something robots just cannot do so well.
My final thought on this comes back to a question many AN'ers may be dwelling upon as we approach med interview season: what does it really mean to be a 'doctor'? Whilst many of us may scoff at the ridiculousness of that question, and assume the answer is something about treating patients, saving lives, or something along those glamorous lines, I think those responses miss the mark a bit. Doctor is said to derive from the Latin "docēre", which actually means "to teach". It doesn't mean "to heal", or "to cure", or "to save"; it means "to teach". And that's the third thing that I don't think robots can do so well. Do patients just want a diagnosis and a drug? No, what they want is to understand what's going on with their body, they want to be taught these things. And each patient is unique in that regard, they've all got different levels of education, they've all got different expectations, they've all got different concerns, they're all unique. It's the doctor's role to adapt to that uniqueness. As the Father of Modern Medicine Hippocrates once said (translated), "It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has". Two-and-a-half thousand years on, that quote still has a lot of relevance to medicine.
I think medicine today is still similar to that depicted by Luke Fildes in his 1891 painting The Doctor, as shown above on the left. Here we have a doctor looking over a child, the child has TB and is inevitably going to pass away (treatment for this condition was not yet discovered!), but we can see clearly the patient has the doctor's undivided attention, and the doctor is thinking deeply about what to do next. The doctor, the patient, and the patient's family probably all know what is going to happen, but there's still a silent and powerful understanding between everyone present that everything that can be done is being done. This is demonstrated again in the picture on the right, which shows Sir William Osler, one of his four famous photographs at the bedside, in "contemplation". A robot can't do these things. There's just no connection it can make that could be as powerful and meaningful as the one between the doctor and the patient. Many would argue that giving these doctors a desk with a computer and too much paperwork would be a better representation of medicine today, and I'd agree, but the essence of Fildes' work and Osler's approach are still very much relevant and still forms the backbone of what medicine is all about, and what it should be all about.
So I think we can safely say that something like this is probably out of the question :P
Wow, that's a really brilliant response, thank you so much for that! I'm actually in complete agreement with what you said, and now I finally have the words to formulate and back up my arguments against the naysayers.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: sweetiepi on September 23, 2016, 04:46:25 pm
Hey pi.... what's your favourite quote from a movie and why?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 23, 2016, 04:55:02 pm
Wow, that's a really brilliant response, thank you so much for that! I'm actually in complete agreement with what you said, and now I finally have the words to formulate and back up my arguments against the naysayers.
Haha thanks to you for the question! It was very thought-provoking :)
Hey pi.... what's your favourite quote from a movie and why?
I actually have an incredibly poor memory when it comes to songs (lyrics, who sang what, album names, etc.) and movies (quotes, actors, directors, etc.). Like, it's not even funny how I can't remember those details.
I could never go past something from my fav movie of all time Jurassic Park. This is a classic (missing lines in between, but captures the essence):
I actually have an incredibly poor memory when it comes to songs (lyrics, who sang what, album names, etc.) and movies (quotes, actors, directors, etc.). Like, it's not even funny how I can't remember those details.
Yoo I have the exact same problem - I've literally listened to songs or watched an english text over and over and not been able to absorb anything from it - do you find that you have the same problem when it comes down to scientific language (names of stuff?) I.e diseases etc, or do you learn about this stuff in depth that your brain is able to remember what they are?
Btw your "guide to racking respect" seems to be awfully accurate. damn.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 23, 2016, 05:35:51 pm
do you find that you have the same problem when it comes down to scientific language (names of stuff?) I.e diseases etc, or do you learn about this stuff in depth that your brain is able to remember what they are?
Not at all, I tend to have a 'normal' memory when it comes to that stuff. Not sure why it happens, maybe I subconsciously don't deem songs or movies worth remembering because I can easily revisit them, not sure! Luckily I have no such problems with studying or remembering patients hahaha
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 23, 2016, 07:08:10 pm
In alternate universe:
Dr Pi Congratulations, we have succesfully removed your right leg! Mr Patient Man ...you mean left leg?
Okay, another question. How did you find the atmosphere at MHS? Being selective, I assume there would have been an absolute tonne of high-achievers. Did this make for a collaborative atmosphere? Was there too much pressure put on? How did it influence you as a person? Blahblahsdohmsdhpshd
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 23, 2016, 07:42:59 pm
Okay, another question. How did you find the atmosphere at MHS? Being selective, I assume there would have been an absolute tonne of high-achievers. Did this make for a collaborative atmosphere? Was there too much pressure put on? How did it influence you as a person? Blahblahsdohmsdhpshd
I actually really enjoyed the atmosphere in MHS. I think the general perception is "a bunch of nerds with glasses from Chinese/Indian backgrounds who just spend all day studying and aren't able to stay in the light for too long", but that's really far far from the truth.
The reality is... we did next to nothing in class. Many of us worked hard when we got home (some had crazy tiger parents lol), so school was really a bit of freedom to muck around and have some fun. Safe to say, the vast majority of my memories from school aren't related to studying at all, they're to do with playing CS 1.6 behind the teacher's back, having ridiculous debates in maths (not 'maths debates' -_-), playing hilarious pranks on each other, those times when my teacher threw textbooks out the window, being late to class to play cricket, etc etc. I had a really fun time during class, which is something that doesn't seem to happen as much in other schools if AN's posts are a good representation of the state; that saddens me. Year 12 should be the best year of you schooling, even if you don't go to the socials and the formals and the 18ths and all of that, you should still be able to enjoy the year for what it was, I was lucky to be able to do that with ease.
The MHS atmosphere was largely collaborative. If you needed help, you could ask any of a number of people and they'd help you out. There were really a lot of comradery and 'brotherly' feels to the cohort. We had 300+ students in a year and a huge campus, so in the off chance that someone was being a bit of a douche to you, it was actually quite easy to just avoid them and move on with school. Having said that, I didn't encounter much bullying or anything like that. Plenty of casual racism, which was almost ingrained into the culture of the school, but nothing said with malice. Not many fights either, the closest I saw to a fight were a couple of kids getting a bit touchy over who owned this copy MathsQuest in the library, it was more hilarious than physical.
As for how it influenced me as a person, that's a tough question. I think it taught me a bit of humility, seeing so many people who are at your academic level or better is certainly humbling in many regards. It taught me to become a more confident person, I was incredibly shy throughout my childhood, wouldn't at all be keen to even ask a shop assistant where something was. After a good dose of MHS debating for four years I improved drastically in that regard, it's funny what going out of your comfort zone can do. MHS also taught me something really important that I only really began to accept after I left, that being something I've echoed in this thread already: 'more than just marks'. It's easy, scarily easy, to get too involved in study and marks and the whole shebang of VCE, but life's really too short to worry about it too much. Getting a B+ isn't the end of the world or your life or your VCE or your day. To take a more micro view of the phrase 'more than just marks', there's something you can take out of every disappointment, and it's important to focus on those things instead. Sure, you got a 'bad' mark, but what did you learn from it? The marks are important, but there's much more to every mark, and what's 'more' is often what's most important.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 23, 2016, 08:15:31 pm
That's a wonderful answer, thank you. The only (excluding ATAR Notes) interaction I've had with anyone from MHS is my grandfather who attended in the '60s (obvsly different), so it's nice to see some perspective. In regards to humility concerning so many other focused people, did you seem to experience this again when you started your med degree, where (I assume) it'd be even more academically inclined?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 23, 2016, 08:26:38 pm
That's a wonderful answer, thank you. The only (excluding ATAR Notes) interaction I've had with anyone from MHS is my grandfather who attended in the '60s (obvsly different), so it's nice to see some perspective.
Haha that's so cool! MHS was quite different back then ;)
In regards to humility concerning so many other focused people, did you seem to experience this again when you started your med degree, where (I assume) it'd be even more academically inclined?
Absolutely. As I've said previously, I entered the course knowing I was in the bottom 25%, so definitely was in awe of the VCE stardom around me haha. Still in awe of many people now, albeit not for the VCE achievements :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 23, 2016, 09:36:15 pm
I'll just ask one more question then give you a break :P
Did you find that there was generally any relationship between performance in VCE and performance in med? I hope to study med at Monash, and will be using ( many ) SEAS categories/Monash Guarantee to try and get in, and was wondering if such people - who may have had lower achieved ATARs - performed any differently? Ideally not, given the purpose of SEAS is to make a level playing field, but I wouldn't know how it works out realistically.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: qazser on September 23, 2016, 09:59:38 pm
Bio medicine then Med at Melbourne vs Medicine at Monash.
Thoughts, assuming Atar and UMAT permitting :)
Edit: Read previous post on Monash vs Melb, but what are your thoughts on the different pathways to become a doctor :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 23, 2016, 10:41:17 pm
I'll just ask one more question then give you a break :P
Did you find that there was generally any relationship between performance in VCE and performance in med? I hope to study med at Monash, and will be using ( many ) SEAS categories/Monash Guarantee to try and get in, and was wondering if such people - who may have had lower achieved ATARs - performed any differently? Ideally not, given the purpose of SEAS is to make a level playing field, but I wouldn't know how it works out realistically.
Keep the questions coming, at least yours' aren't about HighTide haha
I think there's a correlation, but it's not a strong one because there are lots of exceptions. There are many students in the top quartile who didn't did 99+ ATARs and all that jazz, even more if you consider those that didn't get 99.5+. At the end of the day, uni is a clean slate, and the methods people used to study in highschool often fall apart in uni. We don't have practice exams, we don't have textbooks with questions, we just have... lots to remember. And it can be hard to adjust to that even if you were a VCE superstar. It's actually quite hard to predict who adapts well and who doesn't if you use ATAR alone.
I vividly remember being reminded, albeit perhaps jokingly, that I had the lowest ATAR in my lecture row. I did better than many of those guys. You can too :)
Bio medicine then Med at Melbourne vs Medicine at Monash.
Thoughts, assuming Atar and UMAT permitting :)
Edit: Read previous post on Monash vs Melb, but what are your thoughts on the different pathways to become a doctor :)
Probably not best for me to say how they turn out as doctors given I'm not yet there myself! But from what I've heard from senior clinicians, there's not a huge difference between graduates as interns. I've heard from numerous consultants at Monash, Deakin and UoM clinical schools that UoM MDs are a little weak on practical skills because they have one semester less clinical years, but due to the nature of the job, all interns catch up pretty quickly. It's too early to say if there are any differences when it comes to registrar or consultant level, but I don't suspect there would be any.
Looking at which pathway *should* be better. Graduate pathway should be better because one should know more and one should be more mature. The reasons it's practically not is that Biomed and MD1 aren't as in-sync as they could be, and perhaps the Biomed cohort is inherently academically weaker (vast majority would have gone Monash if they got in), so it really balances out graduates and undergraduates. I do like the idea of Biomed/MD in theory, I think it has a lot of potential to really build some good fundamentals, but in practice it just doesn't happen as it should. That's just my impression having taught a group of MD2s (and numerous groups of MBBS IIIs from Monash) weekly for some time now.
If I somehow had all of that knowledge as someone who also got an offer to Monash and guaranteed an offer to UoM, I'd still take Monash just because it's shorter. Given the graduates are about the same, length of the degree would be enough of a factor to sway me to Monash.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 23, 2016, 11:02:34 pm
What's the best place to eat at the Clayton Campus?
I'm actually a bit out-of-touch here given Monash recently revamped its 'campus centre' (where all the food joints are). Now they have Subway, Guzman Y Gomez, Papparich, Roll'd, Sushi Sushi, and all these regular food trucks. So many options! Back when I studied on campus, we had a shop that sold chips, and other shops with variable risks of food poisoning hahahaha.
What's the funniest joke you know? (HighTide doesn't count ayyyyyyyyyyyy)
"I have an EpiPen. My friend gave it to me when he was dying, it seemed very important to him that I have it."
Heard that on reddit a while ago, never gets old hahaha
Other than that one-liner, anything from Russel Peters is great :) On the theme of jokes, I'm a huge fan of all those late-night American talk shows, so I love the jokes that Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Myers all put forward too haha, esp any jokes relating to Donald Trump. One of my favourite movie franchises, Harold and Kumar, is also a great source of unlimited laughter haha.
Do you think your scary ATAR Notes/online persona differs from your real life persona?
Haha, I'm actually far from scary irl! I laugh heaps, look like a bit of a hobo crossed with a drug dealer (I've been asked for drugs before on campus LOL - for the record I do not do or sell drugs of any kind), and just never get angry haha. I'm a bit more serious on here :P
Finally, briefly, what are you researching in your Bachelor of Medical Science?
Studying a condition called 'cerebral amyloid angiopathy'. To break it down: cerebral = brain, amyloid = weird protein, angiopathy = blood vessels. So weird proteins get into brain blood vessels! Essentially, this results in the vessels becoming weak and they can rupture causing brain bleeds (ie. a type of stroke). I'm looking at some features of this condition on MRI scans, especially some new types of MRI sequences. I'm looking at identifying these features, seeing how they relate to each other, how they're distributed, etc. The goal is to learn more about them, and maybe translate that into how the condition works. It's an intriguing area of medicine because this condition only really gained prominence in the last 20 years or so, so there's a lot of things we don't know yet!
I'm having a ball and would recommend a research year to anyone and everyone! :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 23, 2016, 11:32:52 pm
Studying a condition called 'cerebral amyloid angiopathy'. To break it down: cerebral = brain, amyloid = weird protein, angiopathy = blood vessels. So weird proteins get into brain blood vessels! Essentially, this results in the vessels becoming weak and they can rupture causing brain bleeds (ie. a type of stroke). I'm looking at some features of this condition on MRI scans, especially some new types of MRI sequences. I'm looking at identifying these features, seeing how they relate to each other, how they're distributed, etc. The goal is to learn more about them, and maybe translate that into how the condition works. It's an intriguing area of medicine because this condition only really gained prominence in the last 20 years or so, so there's a lot of things we don't know yet!
I'm having a ball and would recommend a research year to anyone and everyone! :)
How odd, I was just reading about this yesterday :D It definitely sounds interesting. I'm glad you (and many others) are undertaking research -- I have a habit of asking my teachers questions to be met with "well, we don't know yet", so I heartily support such things.
I daresay I'm out of questions, so cheers for doing this :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 23, 2016, 11:39:04 pm
How odd, I was just reading about this yesterday :D
Question to you: why were you reading about it LOL? How did you even come across it haha? It was World Alzheimer Day a few days ago, so the condition did get a little traction through that (they're related to each other), but otherwise I'm surprised anyone would come across it haha.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 24, 2016, 01:03:51 am
Haha, I tend to go on procrastination reading binges. I was reading this article - how I came upon it, I do not remember, I don't actually follow the site -, so I decided to read about amyloid, from there to beta amyloid, and from there to cerebral amyloid angiopathy.
I eventually went to the history of 2nd wave black metal, and later to ASOIAF theories, so it is weird that I happened to read about it at such a convenient time, when it could've been anything else
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Drewballs on September 24, 2016, 03:19:17 pm
What experiences have you had working in the Emergency Department and would you consider taking it up as a specialty after you graduate?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 24, 2016, 04:22:14 pm
What experiences have you had working in the Emergency Department and would you consider taking it up as a specialty after you graduate?
I've had limited exposure thus far. I've done a week of Paediatrics ED last year, and frequented the ED on and off during third year. At Monash, we do our major ED rotation in final year, so I'll have a better take on the 'ED experience' next year :) ED is often a perceived by school-leavers as a thrilling job with unlimited excitement and action (ie. like those ED real-life docos), but my limited experience suggests that's rarely the case, especially if you're not working at a major trauma centre.
With all that said, I'm not particularly keen on ED. There are two reasons for this:
1) I prefer engaging in continual patient care. I like to see the full story of sick -> better, not just manage the acute situation before hand-balling the patient to another unit. Building long-term patient relationships is something that I enjoy, and the nature of the ED job doesn't make that possible.
2) ED jobs are hard to come by. Why this is significant in ED, is that to be an emergency physician... you actually need an ED. To have an ED, you need to have a hospital. You can't just start up your own ED like a cardiologist or a GP could start up their own clinic. Hence, the job is based around the limits of the infrastructure. There are too many people wanting to get in to ED compared to the annual rate of retirement, and this compounded with the reliance on infrastructure which also isn't increasing, means these jobs are going to be extremely hard to get in 10-15 years time.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 24, 2016, 07:44:04 pm
I have another question, this is something I've wondered for a while
Has med school changed your visits to your local GP?
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 24, 2016, 08:01:53 pm
I legit have not seen a GP since I got into med school hahaha, only had the standard bouts of coughs, colds, etc.
Was this thanks to the teachings of the great Craig Hassed :P
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: AngelWings on September 25, 2016, 02:12:39 pm
Questions for Pi: 1. Can we please have a motivational quote of the day from you? 2. When do you think we'll have a lady do an AMA on here? (So far, I think they've all been guys.) 3. If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why? (Just because. :P )
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HighTide on September 25, 2016, 03:07:50 pm
A man is looking at a portrait and says: "Brothers and sisters, I have none. But this man's father, is my father's son."
Who is he looking at?
Spoiler
You may remember this question from a few years ago ;) can't remember if it was before you graduated
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 25, 2016, 09:32:07 pm
2. When do you think we'll have a lady do an AMA on here? (So far, I think they've all been guys.)
Hopefully sooner rather than later! :) We've all kinda volunteered for the opportunity (and keeping it to mods for now), so far no females have stuck their hands up, maybe bug some via PM :P
A man is looking at a portrait and says: "Brothers and sisters, I have none. But this man's father, is my father's son."
Who is he looking at?
Spoiler
You may remember this question from a few years ago ;) can't remember if it was before you graduated
Alrighty.
Let's start from the back: "...this man's father, is my father's son". This suggests there are three people here: man's father -> man's father's son (could be the man or his siblings) -> man's father's son's son (could be man's son, or nephews)
Then we apply: "Brothers and sisters, I have none". This means he's an only child. Therefore the three people are: man's father -> man -> man's son (can cancel out the double negative now)
Thus, he is looking at a picture of his son.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Butterflygirl on September 25, 2016, 10:07:05 pm
*Put hand up* I have questions!
How did you feel on the first day of university? and did you know anyone in med from your school? (Probably yes haha but curious)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 25, 2016, 10:20:01 pm
How did you feel on the first day of university? and did you know anyone in med from your school? (Probably yes haha but curious)
School and uni... were nearly the same :P I had 25 other lads from my school get into med, plus I knew many others from city schools (Mac.Rob, MGS, Scotch, etc.). The demographic was also familiar, a strong representation from the Asian continent :P So I felt pretty at home in all honesty haha, no problems at all with finding friends (in addition to those I was already close with) :)
As for my first day, I only really remember the morning, but I remember it vividly. It was raining, and I was running on "Indian time", which for those unaware, means I was running "fashionably late" to my first morning lecture. Of course, I had no umbrella and was decked out in shorts and a hoodie. To make matters worse, I was also thoroughly lost haha, and went to the wrong building and had to ask for instructions. So when I ended up finding the lecture theatre, not only was I 15 minutes late, I was also drenched. Safe to say, the Professor taking the lecture was less than impressed and a lecture-full of judgemental eyes followed me as I ran up to the back of the theatre. Luckily, I wasn't the only one in my predicament so I had a few people around me to have a laugh about it hahaha.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HasibA on September 25, 2016, 10:54:50 pm
Few qs Do you ever question why we as humans live and the meaning of life ? Very simply, not so much philosophical ly but more so just "why"
What are you thoughts on social phobia, anxiety, and mental illness in general, from your newfound medical experience (and perhaps , if you remember , your thoughts prior to med) ?
Final one: what are your thoughts on comparing yourself to others ? In terms of looks, academics etx. Frivolous or something we all just do subconsciously?
Thanks heaps :) really like to read your insight :)
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Calebark on September 25, 2016, 11:17:28 pm
Few qs Do you ever question why we as humans live and the meaning of life ? Very simply, not so much philosophical ly but more so just "why"
I don't think life has a meaning - it's just life. I'm not a big believer of higher powers and so forth, so I don't think we're here for a reason. I can understand why others may take comfort in thinking we do though.
What are you thoughts on social phobia, anxiety, and mental illness in general, from your newfound medical experience (and perhaps , if you remember , your thoughts prior to med) ?
I think mental illness definitely exists, it does have significant impacts on peoples' lives, and because we don't know a lot about how it occurs on a chemical level we're also not great at treating it. I don't think that understanding has between yr12 and now, although I certainly didn't know or know of so many people with mental illness when I was going through school as I do now, which is of course worrying.
Now for a trademark controversial opinion:
I also question whether with the recent movements to de-stigmatise mental illness (and all the other media coverage it has) are actually doing only good things. There's no doubt many good things come from these campaigns and many lives have been saved, however I wonder if this is all making young people feel like "it's ok to have a mental illness" in the sense that "ok" means it's "normal". I'd argue, "no, it's not ok", just like it's not "ok" to have melanoma or have your leg amputated. It's never "ok" to be sick. It's "ok" to admit you're sick and seek help, and that should be encouraged to everyone who is sick, but it's not "ok" just to be sick.
I wonder if these campaigns have done so well that they're actually normalising mental illness too much. But normalising as a concept, not as a deeper understanding (ie. crap like R U OK? day), to the point where newer generations aren't actually as resilient as previous generations, because now there are a stack of diagnoses to fall back on every time something doesn't go their way in life. That's not to say people with mental illness "just aren't resilient", because of course that's nonsense and we know that mental illness has numerous biological and environmental factors at play, but I suspect it may be just one environmental factor increasing the generational risk of becoming mentally ill. By how much it is increasing this risk? Who knows, but I think it is probably under-stated. It's an opinion I've heard echoed around in the medical community, especially during my psych term, and I think it's one that could have its merits. Indeed, resilience education features in many schools now in Europe and the US, perhaps it's Australia's turn to adopt it.
Final one: what are your thoughts on comparing yourself to others ? In terms of looks, academics etx. Frivolous or something we all just do subconsciously?
Something we all do subconsciously for sure. But also not something worth dwelling on too much. Comparing yourself to someone else can motivate you, but it can also motivate you for what I consider to be 'the wrong reasons'. I think it's much more healthy to focus on yourself and how you can improve, and that's often hard to do, but you can teach yourself to make that the focus of your motivations.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Butterflygirl on September 26, 2016, 02:46:04 pm
What is the best book you have ever read?
How did you feel doing your first ever VCE exam?
During VCE did you ever come across people who try to purposefully make you stress out and doubt yourself before a SAC? (Or even before an exam) If yes, how did you deal with this people and focus on the main goal?
Would you rather wear a pug costume or a sausage dog costume in public? :P
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 26, 2016, 03:21:20 pm
It's been so long I can't really remember haha, so guessing it couldn't have been too traumatic! As said earlier, I didn't really take Unit 3 seriously enough and didn't really know how significant these VCE exams really were (we had mid-year exams), so I probably wasn't too nervous actually haha. BIG MISTAKE.
During VCE did you ever come across people who try to purposefully make you stress out and doubt yourself before a SAC? (Or even before an exam) If yes, how did you deal with this people and focus on the main goal?
Honestly, not really. I hung around my friends before assessments, and we kept each other pretty calm :) If I did have people like this, I think I'd just either try and be somewhere else or tell them in no uncertain terms something like "look, I'm feeling really nauseous, if you keep talking I'll have to look at you for politeness, and that means the vomit is coming your way" hahaha
Would you rather wear a pug costume or a sausage dog costume in public? :P
Sausage dogs. Pugs are ugly af and I think it's really sad how humans have selectively bred them to this point. Not only are the ugly, they also have many health issues not experienced by other dogs (eg. breathing issues). Defs not the pug costume.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: plsbegentle on September 26, 2016, 03:32:12 pm
Hey Pi 1) Who was your favorite teacher? :P 2)Kill Marry Fuck? Mr Ludowyke, Mr Stiglec and Mr Guthrie and why?! And very curious what house group were u? Go Waterloo!!
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 26, 2016, 03:38:52 pm
I'd have to have two favourites: 1) Mr Yarussky, now retired, who taught me maths in Year 10 and Spesh in Year 12. One of the best teachers I've ever had in schooling. Plus, Maths sounds better with a Russian accent. 2) Ms Bekos, who I believe still works at MHS, was my English and form teacher in Year 12. Was one of the nicest teachers I've encountered, wrote a stellar reference for me for my JCU med application, and showed incredible dedication to her students in correcting essays over-night etc etc.
I've got other great teachers from my time at MHS, with Mr James (year 10 science, now retired) and Mr Wood (year 11 Spesh and Year 12 Methods, now retired) stand-outs too, but those two I've highlighted above stand out for me :)
2)Kill Marry Fuck? Mr Ludowyke, Mr Stiglec and Mr Guthrie and why?!
Yeaaaaaaah I'm going to be the buzz-kill and say that's not appropriate, sorry haha. Neither of those teachers taught me so I'm not going to make any comments about either of them. Also it's *Dr Stiglec, he has a PhD :)
Assuming you are Indian from your previous post, did you ever go to India? If so, did you experience any culture chock?
Haha yup Indian heritage, although I'll staunchly claim to be true blue Aussie :P I've been to India three times, and honestly, I don't enjoy it. The main reason is because I always get sick LOL. Every time I go I've got some semi-serious infection that's knocked me around for a week or more, I'll stick to countries with clean water and food that my weak untested Aussie immune system can handle haha
As for culture shock, there's no bigger culture shock that just noticing the smell after you walk out of the plane at New Delhi airport. Pretty much sums up the cultural shock haha
I know who you are, but I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career as a mod. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you stop maliciously cyber-bullying me now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will ban you.
Regards, pi.
I have no intentions of cyber-bullying you or anyone here. In fact what I do see is that you are trying to shift all the blame on me, just because I down-voted your post for your negative comments on a specific race* (which I did not find amusing). I also didn't convince anyone to down-vote you. It was all their decision.
My sincere apologies for all the down votes you received. I had no clue that such a thing could have happened.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: heids on September 26, 2016, 08:34:17 pm
I have no intentions of cyber-bullying you or anyone here. In fact what I do see is that you are trying to shift all the blame on me, just because I down-voted your post for your negative comments on a specific race* (which I did not find amusing). I also didn't convince anyone to down-vote you. It was all their decision.
My sincere apologies for all the down votes you received. I had no clue that such a thing could have happened.
Hahaha honestly don't worry about it, pi was fairly clearly joking (who includes MLK quotes when they're being serious? o.O), all in good fun. :P Besides, he needs a downvote here and there to counteract the insane number of VCE Physics upvotes he's received over time. Wouldn't want anyone getting too swelled-headed. :D
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: EEEEEEP on September 26, 2016, 08:40:00 pm
I have no intentions of cyber-bullying you or anyone here. In fact what I do see is that you are trying to shift all the blame on me, just because I down-voted your post for your negative comments on a specific race* (which I did not find amusing). I also didn't convince anyone to down-vote you. It was all their decision.
My sincere apologies for all the down votes you received. I had no clue that such a thing could have happened.
I agree. I think it's highly inappropriate that a member (one of the oldest members I might add) who has over 10k posts and 2.198k respect is pinning the blame on someone else. It's despicable. We should be allowed to share our views here and our concerns without being targeted by established members who seek to belittle others.
You were offended by PI's post and that's acceptable - it's not up to society or pi' (regardless of his overarching presence on this site) to dictate what you are offended by. Shame on you Pi. And shame on your contemptible racial comments.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HighTide on September 26, 2016, 09:50:01 pm
I agree. I think it's highly inappropriate that a member (one of the oldest members I might add) who has over 10k posts and 2.198k respect is pinning the blame on someone else. It's despicable. We should be allowed to share our views here and our concerns without being targeted by established members who seek to belittle others.
You were offended by PI's post and that's acceptable - it's not up to society or pi' (regardless of his overarching presence on this site) to dictate what you are offended by. Shame on you Pi. And shame on your contemptible racial comments.
Yes, I too agree. Although I am not of Indian nationality, I will find a reason why I am triggered by his comment, just give me a few hours. >:(
In any case, it is very unacceptable to make such racial slurs! :'( We should all be coming together and condemning Pi's irresponsible and highly derogatory comments. We should stand together until swift justice has been served! I shall get the ball rolling with the hashtag #PostBanForPi'
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: pi on September 26, 2016, 09:52:07 pm
Ladies and gentlemen,
I'm disgusted by what has occurred today.
But before I launch into what my opinions are of this syndicate that has formed against me, a syndicate based upon bigotry of the highest order, I think it's important to understand a little bit about me.
I had humble beginnings. I was raised in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, regions of the country known to be rife with racism, crime, and violence. I survived primary school despite being one of five non-Caucasians in my year level of eighty children. I was subject to many racist taunts throughout my time there, comments such as "curry muncher", "shitter Sachin Tendulkar", and "thank you come again" were unfortunately commonplace. Although I evaded every being physically assaulted, I left primary school with a grim view of my fellow humans, but an optimism that perhaps there were good people left in this world. I entered secondary school with this optimism at the forefront of my mind, and since then, haven't looked back. I found the good people in this world, I discovered what it meant to be accepted into a society where you are indeed the racial minority. I had people around me who looked past the colour of my skin and treated me as an equal. When I joined AN, for five years I've encountered similar people. People who were tolerant of one-another, who didn't throw around accusations of racism, who stood up for those who were in the right.
However, that was then, and this is now.
Today I see the beginning of the end for Australia and AN.
It seems that the dark days that plaugued me in the Western suburbs have arrived once again. The stormy clouds of racism have returned. However instead of bullies having the courage to taunt me to my face, we have cowards. Cowards who hide in the metaphorical shadows and shout abuse from behind their keyboards. I always suspected AN rose above such Pauline Hanson-istic views, but it seems even AN is not without its damning culture. Today, not only have I been falsely accused of being a racist, but I have also been ganged-up on by multiple members of this community (or dare I say: 'cult'), and had my emotional reactions be deemed a petty "joke" by senior staff on this forum.
This is unacceptable.
This is an outrage.
This is illegal.
The Victorian Crimes Amendment (Bullying) Bill 2011 defines bullying as the including the following:
Quote
- Abusive language or behaviour that offends, frightens, belittles or humiliates - Undue public criticism - Spreading gossip or malicious rumours
I'm sad to say that each of these things has happened to me today. Let us chronologically walk through these events as they've shocking unfolded tonight.
Firstly, I was labeled as a racist. Did my post contain anything of racist nature? Let's revisit it.
Haha yup Indian heritage, although I'll staunchly claim to be true blue Aussie :P I've been to India three times, and honestly, I don't enjoy it. The main reason is because I always get sick LOL. Every time I go I've got some semi-serious infection that's knocked me around for a week or more, I'll stick to countries with clean water and food that my weak untested Aussie immune system can handle haha
As for culture shock, there's no bigger culture shock that just noticing the smell after you walk out of the plane at New Delhi airport. Pretty much sums up the cultural shock haha
Super relevant hahaha:
Is there anything in this post that I have written that is at all racist? The obvious answer is undoubtedly a "no". I have stated that I have an immune system that is not accustomed to the Indian subcontinent. Racist? No. I said that the New Delhi airport has a distinct odour. Racist? No. I posted a video from a well-known comedian of Indian heritage who describes his own experiences at an airport in India. Racist? No.
So why am I essentially being labeled as a racist?
It's because I'm Indian. It's because I'm not "one of them". It's because this syndicate are the real racists. How do we know it's because of this one might ask? A quick glance at my posts prior to this factoid being released reveals acceptance form the community, compared to the stark opposite reaction following. It's blindly obvious if you choose to look.
Alveda King once said "racism oppresses its victims, but also binds the oppressors". And guess what happened? One down-vote became two, which became three, which became seven. Racism does indeed bind the oppressors.
I tried to speak up against this oppressive band. I put my hand up to offer a comment. I tried to simply stand up for myself. What happened?
I think it's highly inappropriate that a member (one of the oldest members I might add) who has over 10k posts and 2.198k respect is pinning the blame on someone else.
We should be allowed to share our views here and our concerns without being targeted by established members who seek to belittle others.
Not only was my well-regarded status on the forum used as justification for my mistreatment, apparently we "should be allowed to share our views" as long as they're not my views?
This community has failed me and should be ashamed of itself.
I shall get the ball rolling with the hashtag #PostBanForPi'
You shall have your wish. And more.
I conclude this AMA with a farewell. Maybe one day in the future I'll return to AN. Maybe by then this syndicate, this band of oppressors, this tyrannical racist brigade of cowardly keyboard warriors... Maybe they will have gone.
Until then, I implore you all. Look deep within your souls. Ask yourself a few questions. Should any member of this community be subject to such hostile racial hatred? Should any member be ganged-up upon just for their racial background? Should anyone feel unsafe on ATAR Notes as I have today? If you answer is "no" to those questions, then I ask you to stand up for minorities, not just me but also the multitude of others who are subject to this bigotry and harassment every single day, be a voice for those who can't speak for themselves. I say this because I spoke. I spoke against what I thought was wrong. And it wasn't enough.
Goodbye and good-luck.
edit: just FYI, this whole "racism" thing was a bit of a joke. Just wanted to leave AN with a bit of drama. No hard feelings,no regrets. Best of luck to everyone in their future aspirations. That's cheers.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: ldunn on September 26, 2016, 09:57:40 pm
But before I launch into what my opinions are of this syndicate that has formed against me, a syndicate based upon bigotry of the highest order, I think it's important to understand a little bit about me.
I had humble beginnings. I was raised in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, regions of the country known to be rife with racism, crime, and violence. I survived primary school despite being one of five non-Caucasians in my year level of eighty children. I was subject to many racist taunts throughout my time there, comments such as "curry muncher", "shitter Sachin Tendulkar", and "thank you come again" were unfortunately commonplace. Although I evaded every being physically assaulted, I left primary school with a grim view of my fellow humans, but an optimism that perhaps there were good people left in this world. I entered secondary school with this optimism at the forefront of my mind, and since then, haven't looked back. I found the good people in this world, I discovered what it meant to be accepted into a society where you are indeed the racial minority. I had people around me who looked past the colour of my skin and treated me as an equal. When I joined AN, for five years I've encountered similar people. People who were tolerant of one-another, who didn't throw around accusations of racism, who stood up for those who were in the right.
However, that was then, and this is now.
Today I see the beginning of the end for Australia and AN.
It seems that the dark days that plaugued me in the Western suburbs have arrived once again. The stormy clouds of racism have returned. However instead of bullies having the courage to taunt me to my face, we have cowards. Cowards who hide in the metaphorical shadows and shout abuse from behind their keyboards. I always suspected AN rose above such Pauline Hanson-istic views, but it seems even AN is not without its damning culture. Today, not only have I been falsely accused of being a racist, but I have also been ganged-up on by multiple members of this community (or dare I say: 'cult'), and had my emotional reactions be deemed a petty "joke" by senior staff on this forum.
This is unacceptable.
This is an outrage.
This is illegal.
The Victorian Crimes Amendment (Bullying) Bill 2011 defines bullying as the including the following: I'm sad to say that each of these things has happened to me today. Let us chronologically walk through these events as they've shocking unfolded tonight.
Firstly, I was labeled as a racist. Did my post contain anything of racist nature? Let's revisit it.
Is there anything in this post that I have written that is at all racist? The obvious answer is undoubtedly a "no". I have stated that I have an immune system that is not accustomed to the Indian subcontinent. Racist? No. I said that the New Delhi airport has a distinct odour. Racist? No. I posted a video from a well-known comedian of Indian heritage who describes his own experiences at an airport in India. Racist? No.
So why am I essentially being labeled as a racist?
Here's the answer.
It's because I'm Indian. It's because I'm not "one of them". It's because this syndicate are the real racists. How do we know it's because of this one might ask? A quick glance at my posts prior to this factoid being released reveals acceptance form the community, compared to the stark opposite reaction following. It's blindly obvious if you choose to look.
Alveda King once said "racism oppresses its victims, but also binds the oppressors". And guess what happened? One down-vote became two, which became three, which became seven. Racism does indeed bind the oppressors.
I tried to speak up against this oppressive band. I put my hand up to offer a comment. I tried to simply stand up for myself. What happened?
My feelings, my pain, my anguish. All deemed a "joke". Brushed away like my ancestors used to brush the porches of the British invaders.
Alas, things got worse.
Followed up with...
Not only was my well-regarded status on the forum used as justification for my mistreatment, apparently we "should be allowed to share our views" as long as they're not my views?
This community has failed me and should be ashamed of itself.
You shall have your wish. And more.
I conclude this AMA with a farewell. Maybe one day in the future I'll return to AN. Maybe by then this syndicate, this band of oppressors, this tyrannical racist brigade of cowardly keyboard warriors... Maybe they will have gone.
Until then, I implore you all. Look deep within your souls. Ask yourself a few questions. Should any member of this community be subject to such hostile racial hatred? Should any member be ganged-up upon just for their racial background? Should anyone feel unsafe on ATAR Notes as I have today? If you answer is "no" to those questions, then I ask you to stand up for minorities, not just me but also the multitude of others who are subject to this bigotry and harassment every single day, be a voice for those who can't speak for themselves. I say this because I spoke. I spoke against what I thought was wrong. And it wasn't enough.
Goodbye and good-luck.
tl;dr
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Butterflygirl on September 26, 2016, 11:09:18 pm
But before I launch into what my opinions are of this syndicate that has formed against me, a syndicate based upon bigotry of the highest order, I think it's important to understand a little bit about me.
I had humble beginnings. I was raised in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, regions of the country known to be rife with racism, crime, and violence. I survived primary school despite being one of five non-Caucasians in my year level of eighty children. I was subject to many racist taunts throughout my time there, comments such as "curry muncher", "shitter Sachin Tendulkar", and "thank you come again" were unfortunately commonplace. Although I evaded every being physically assaulted, I left primary school with a grim view of my fellow humans, but an optimism that perhaps there were good people left in this world. I entered secondary school with this optimism at the forefront of my mind, and since then, haven't looked back. I found the good people in this world, I discovered what it meant to be accepted into a society where you are indeed the racial minority. I had people around me who looked past the colour of my skin and treated me as an equal. When I joined AN, for five years I've encountered similar people. People who were tolerant of one-another, who didn't throw around accusations of racism, who stood up for those who were in the right.
However, that was then, and this is now.
Today I see the beginning of the end for Australia and AN.
It seems that the dark days that plaugued me in the Western suburbs have arrived once again. The stormy clouds of racism have returned. However instead of bullies having the courage to taunt me to my face, we have cowards. Cowards who hide in the metaphorical shadows and shout abuse from behind their keyboards. I always suspected AN rose above such Pauline Hanson-istic views, but it seems even AN is not without its damning culture. Today, not only have I been falsely accused of being a racist, but I have also been ganged-up on by multiple members of this community (or dare I say: 'cult'), and had my emotional reactions be deemed a petty "joke" by senior staff on this forum.
This is unacceptable.
This is an outrage.
This is illegal.
The Victorian Crimes Amendment (Bullying) Bill 2011 defines bullying as the including the following: I'm sad to say that each of these things has happened to me today. Let us chronologically walk through these events as they've shocking unfolded tonight.
Firstly, I was labeled as a racist. Did my post contain anything of racist nature? Let's revisit it.
Is there anything in this post that I have written that is at all racist? The obvious answer is undoubtedly a "no". I have stated that I have an immune system that is not accustomed to the Indian subcontinent. Racist? No. I said that the New Delhi airport has a distinct odour. Racist? No. I posted a video from a well-known comedian of Indian heritage who describes his own experiences at an airport in India. Racist? No.
So why am I essentially being labeled as a racist?
Here's the answer.
It's because I'm Indian. It's because I'm not "one of them". It's because this syndicate are the real racists. How do we know it's because of this one might ask? A quick glance at my posts prior to this factoid being released reveals acceptance form the community, compared to the stark opposite reaction following. It's blindly obvious if you choose to look.
Alveda King once said "racism oppresses its victims, but also binds the oppressors". And guess what happened? One down-vote became two, which became three, which became seven. Racism does indeed bind the oppressors.
I tried to speak up against this oppressive band. I put my hand up to offer a comment. I tried to simply stand up for myself. What happened?
My feelings, my pain, my anguish. All deemed a "joke". Brushed away like my ancestors used to brush the porches of the British invaders.
Alas, things got worse.
Followed up with...
Not only was my well-regarded status on the forum used as justification for my mistreatment, apparently we "should be allowed to share our views" as long as they're not my views?
This community has failed me and should be ashamed of itself.
You shall have your wish. And more.
I conclude this AMA with a farewell. Maybe one day in the future I'll return to AN. Maybe by then this syndicate, this band of oppressors, this tyrannical racist brigade of cowardly keyboard warriors... Maybe they will have gone.
Until then, I implore you all. Look deep within your souls. Ask yourself a few questions. Should any member of this community be subject to such hostile racial hatred? Should any member be ganged-up upon just for their racial background? Should anyone feel unsafe on ATAR Notes as I have today? If you answer is "no" to those questions, then I ask you to stand up for minorities, not just me but also the multitude of others who are subject to this bigotry and harassment every single day, be a voice for those who can't speak for themselves. I say this because I spoke. I spoke against what I thought was wrong. And it wasn't enough.
Goodbye and good-luck.
Have you ever thought of a career as a politician + doctor? Seems like it would work :P
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HughMungus on September 26, 2016, 11:20:19 pm
Pls Write your Nobel Price Acceptance Speech :D
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Mhysa on September 27, 2016, 12:25:52 am
I shall get the ball rolling with the hashtag #PostBanForPi'
As a Pakistani, I have to agree with everything Pi said in his humorous post. I went back to Pakistan six months ago and was welcomed with a two week long diarrhea and watery stool that resembled Haleem curry I just had.
Are you disgusted by my post? Good. Please upvote me
As for the controversy that arose from Pi's post, guys eat some Haleem naan and chillax.
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: Drewballs on September 27, 2016, 08:41:42 am
Ah the primary school days, when petty, jealous kids would cry and make stuff up to get you in trouble #justiceforpi
Title: Re: [Ask Me Anything] #5: pi
Post by: HughMungus on September 27, 2016, 10:33:14 am