--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we practiced medicine like we practice…" description: "\"If we practiced medicine like we practice education, we'd look for the liver on the right side and left side in alternate years.\" — Alfred Kazin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/alfred-kazin-24942_education_if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practic_2446288.png" --- # If we practiced medicine like we practice education, we'd… ![“If we practiced medicine like we practice education, we'd look for the liver on the right side and left side in alternate years.” quote by Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/alfred-kazin-24942_education_if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practic_2446288.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/alfred-kazin-24942_education_if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practic_2446288.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/alfred-kazin-24942_education_if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practic_2446288.png) > “If we practiced medicine like we practice education, we'd look for the liver on the right side and left side in alternate years.” [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comparing medicine and education humorously, the speaker highlights the absurdity of misapplying methods across fields. **In simple terms:** Misapplied methods lead to absurd outcomes. Key Takeaway Apply discipline‑specific knowledge correctly. Themes education medicine misapplication humor discipline Mood witty critical Type satirical observational When to use this quote - teaching - clinical practice - policy making Key Concepts cross‑disciplinary errors critical thinking systemic thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can interdisciplinary learning avoid such errors? - What safeguards ensure field‑appropriate methods? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex differences between fields. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alternate Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternate-years-531187/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Liver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liver/) [Liver Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liver-right-531185/) [Look Liver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-liver-531184/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Practiced Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practiced-medicine-531186/) [Right side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-side/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“On November 18 of alternate years Mr Earbrass begins writing 'his new novel'. 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I started as a village doctor - community doctor, public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/i-practiced-medicine-up-til-now-i-practice-psychiatry-i-shifted-from/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [For people who dont know me, I practiced medicine in Casper, Wyoming for 25 years as an orthopedic surgeon, taking care of families in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrasso/for-people-who-dont-know-me-i-practiced-medicine-in-casper-wyoming/) [John Barrasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrasso/) > [“If doctors practiced medicine the way many companies practice management, there would be far more sick and dead patients, and many more doctors would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/if-doctors-practiced-medicine-the-way-many-companies-practice/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [I would like to mention some preparations that were required of me. The first preparation is to take a right attitude toward life. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/i-would-like-to-mention-some-preparations-that-were-required-of-me/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [As most doctors will tell you, cleansing is ridiculous. You know what's been around longer than that state-of-the-art juicer? Your kidneys. And your liver.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/as-most-doctors-will-tell-you-cleansing-is-ridiculous-you-know-what-s/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [The fact that your liver can regenerate itself is incredible - it's a medical miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-henry/the-fact-that-your-liver-can-regenerate-itself-is-incredible-it-s-a/) [Ed Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-henry/) > [The battle against cancer has made me strong. It's like winning a war! When I was diagnosed, I was told by doctors my kidney,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuvraj-singh/the-battle-against-cancer-has-made-me-strong-it-s-like-winning-a-war/) [Yuvraj Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuvraj-singh/) > [I drank my liver out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hagman/i-drank-my-liver-out/) [Larry Hagman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hagman/) > [Eating liver out of a cow's body is like eating the filter out of a car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-gregory/eating-liver-out-of-a-cow-s-body-is-like-eating-the-filter-out-of-a/) [Dick Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-gregory/) > [Jeannle and I lost a son, Tlmmy, in 1985 to a liver transplant operation, if we can do some good, we want to do so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rabbitt/jeannle-and-i-lost-a-son-tlmmy-in-1985-to-a-liver-transplant/) [Eddie Rabbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rabbitt/) > [We all know that small cars are good for us. But so is cod liver oil. And jogging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-clarkson/we-all-know-that-small-cars-are-good-for-us-but-so-is-cod-liver-oil/) [Jeremy Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-clarkson/) > [I'm not asking a poem to carry a lot of rocks in its pockets. Just being an ordinary observer and liver and feeler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-not-asking-a-poem-to-carry-a-lot-of-rocks-in-its-pockets-just/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/to-become-a-celebrity-is-to-become-a-brand-name-there-is-ivory-soap/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## More by Alfred Kazin > [Art changes all the time, but it never "improves." It may go down, or up, but it never improves as technology and medicine improve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/art-changes-all-the-time-but-it-never-improves-it-may-go-down-or-up/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [“Power beyond reason created a lasting irrationality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/power-beyond-reason-created-a-lasting-irrationality/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [When a writer talks about his work, he's talking about a love affair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/when-a-writer-talks-about-his-work-he-s-talking-about-a-love-affair/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [History has become more important than ever because of the to unprecedented ability of the historical sciences to take in man's life on earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/history-has-become-more-important-than-ever-because-of-the-to/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [Is it strange, then, that in a literature so concerned with realism and with personal liberation this refusal and impoverishment of the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/is-it-strange-then-that-in-a-literature-so-concerned-with-realism-and/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [A classic is a book that survives the circumstances that made it possible yet alone keeps those circumstances alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/a-classic-is-a-book-that-survives-the-circumstances-that-made-it/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [What need had the businessman to scribble or philosophize when he dominated the imagination of his time and the frantic materialism that was his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/what-need-had-the-businessman-to-scribble-or-philosophize-when-he/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [One writes to make a home for oneself, on paper, in time, in others' minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/one-writes-to-make-a-home-for-oneself-on-paper-in-time-in-others-minds/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [The writer writes in order to teach himself, to understand himself, to satisfy himself; the publishing of his ideas, though it brings gratification, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/the-writer-writes-in-order-to-teach-himself-to-understand-himself-to/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [Altogether beautiful in the power of its feeling. As beautiful as anything in Thoreau or Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/altogether-beautiful-in-the-power-of-its-feeling-as-beautiful-as/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [One writes to make a home for oneself, on paper, in time and in others' minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/one-writes-to-make-a-home-for-oneself-on-paper-in-time-and-in-others/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [We never know how much has been missing from our lives until a true writer comes along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/we-never-know-how-much-has-been-missing-from-our-lives-until-a-true/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [A year after Hemingway died on the front page, Faulkner went off after a binge, as if dying was nobody's business but his own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/a-year-after-hemingway-died-on-the-front-page-faulkner-went-off-after/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [Walking I am unbound, and find that precious unity of life and imagination, that silent outgoing self, which is so easy to loose, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/walking-i-am-unbound-and-find-that-precious-unity-of-life-and/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [What happens whenever we convert a writer into a symbol is that we lose the writer himself in all his indefeasible singularity, his particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/what-happens-whenever-we-convert-a-writer-into-a-symbol-is-that-we/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) [Explore all 23 Alfred Kazin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) ## More Education quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [“In school you are taught to obey and not to think straight for your own good. 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But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“What's the best thing about being in college? Good teachers. They inspire you, they entertain you, and you end up learning a ton even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-s-the-best-thing-about-being-in-college-good-teachers-they/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“If one has not a head of steel it will burst; if he has not within it a brain of liquid quicksilver, he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioannes-amos-commenius/if-one-has-not-a-head-of-steel-it-will-burst-if-he-has-not-within-it/) [Ioannes Amos Commenius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ioannes-amos-commenius/) > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) [H.D. (Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-hilda-doolittle/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“I only began to enjoy studying after I got through the educational system and became a so-called member of society. If something interested me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-only-began-to-enjoy-studying-after-i-got-through-the-educational/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [English teachers tend to put more thought in the books than the author did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/english-teachers-tend-to-put-more-thought-in-the-books-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) [Browse all 37,666 Education quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we practiced medicine like we practice education, we'd look for the liver on the right side and left side in alternate years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alfred Kazin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practice-education-we-d-look-for-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practice-education-we-d-look-for-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/alfred-kazin-24942_education_if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practic_2446288.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/alfred-kazin-24942_education_if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practic_2446288.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/915/alfred-kazin-24942_education_if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practic_2446288.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we practiced medicine like we practice education, we'd look for the liver on the right side and left side…” — Alfred Kazin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alfred Kazin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we practiced medicine like we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practice-education-we-d-look-for-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/if-we-practiced-medicine-like-we-practice-education-we-d-look-for-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```