--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a person is A) poorly, B) receives…" description: "\"If a person is A) poorly, B) receives treatment intended to make him better, and C) gets better, then no power of reasoning known to medical science ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/peter-medawar-9996_convince_if-a-person-is-a-poorly-b-receives-treat_795734.jpg" --- # If a person is A) poorly, B) receives treatment intended… ![“If a person is A) poorly, B) receives treatment intended to make him better, and C) gets better, then no power of reasoning known to medical science can convince him that it may not have been the treatment that restored his health.” quote by Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/peter-medawar-9996_convince_if-a-person-is-a-poorly-b-receives-treat_795734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/peter-medawar-9996_convince_if-a-person-is-a-poorly-b-receives-treat_795734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bc/peter-medawar-9996_convince_if-a-person-is-a-poorly-b-receives-treat_795734.jpg) > “If a person is A) poorly, B) receives treatment intended to make him better, and C) gets better, then no power of reasoning known to medical science can convince him that it may not have been the treatment that restored his health.” [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when treatment works, patients may not attribute recovery to it, showing limits of reasoning about health. **In simple terms:** People may not recognize the cause of their healing. Key Takeaway Acknowledge treatment’s role in recovery. Themes medicine reasoning perception Mood analytical empathetic Type scientific educational When to use this quote - clinical practice - patient education - health communication Key Concepts philosophy of science cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How can clinicians improve patient understanding? - What biases affect health reasoning? A Different Perspective Patients may resist logical explanations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Medical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical/) [Medical science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical-science/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Reasoning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reasoning/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treatment/) ## Related quotes > [Scientific reasoning is a dialogue between the possible and the actual, between proposal and disposal between what might be true, and what is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/scientific-reasoning-is-a-dialogue-between-the-possible-and-the/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [The greatest analgesic, soporific, stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic, and to some extent even antibiotic - in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/the-greatest-analgesic-soporific-stimulant-tranquilizer-narcotic-and/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [My idea in Half the Kingdom was simply, or not so simply perhaps, that medical science has given us twenty extra years of life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/my-idea-in-half-the-kingdom-was-simply-or-not-so-simply-perhaps-that/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [“I mean to say, I know perfectly well that I've got, roughly speaking, half the amount of brain a normal bloke ought to possess.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/i-mean-to-say-i-know-perfectly-well-that-i-ve-got-roughly-speaking-2/) [P.G. 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When my heart scan can not show you his recent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/progress-of-medical-science-so-what-s-the-use-when-my-heart-scan-can/) Mak\_786 ## More by Peter Medawar > [The USA is so enormous, and so numerous are its schools, colleges and religious seminaries, many devoted to special religious beliefs ranging from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/the-usa-is-so-enormous-and-so-numerous-are-its-schools-colleges-and/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Innocent, unbiased observation is a myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/innocent-unbiased-observation-is-a-myth/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [An experiment not worth doing is not worth doing well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/an-experiment-not-worth-doing-is-not-worth-doing-well/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Science is the art of the solvable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/science-is-the-art-of-the-solvable/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [ \[A certain class of explanations in science are\] analgesics that dull the ache of incomprehension without removing the cause. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/a-certain-class-of-explanations-in-science-are-analgesics-that-dull/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [Twice in my life I have spent two weary and scientifically profitless years seeking evidence to corroborate dearly loved hypotheses that later proved to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/twice-in-my-life-i-have-spent-two-weary-and-scientifically-profitless/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [If politics is the art of the possible, research is surely the art of the soluble. 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But he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/jesus-never-met-a-disease-he-could-not-cure-a-birth-defect-he-could/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [The first duty of a wise advocate is to convince his opponents that he understands their arguments, and sympathies with their just feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-first-duty-of-a-wise-advocate-is-to-convince-his-opponents-that/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [Once you convince people that they're victims, you really own them because you've just told them that whatever problems they have in life, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/once-you-convince-people-that-they-re-victims-you-really-own-them/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The people on the QVC shopping channel convince me that life is worth living. They see the good in everything. People who go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-vegas/the-people-on-the-qvc-shopping-channel-convince-me-that-life-is-worth/) [Johnny Vegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-vegas/) > [“What can I say to convince you the Houses of Parliament dissolve night after night to become the fluid dream of the Thames? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisel-mueller/what-can-i-say-to-convince-you-the-houses-of-parliament-dissolve/) [Lisel Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisel-mueller/) > [Human beings have the incredible capacity for denial. I think they do. And although it's really hard to believe, I have my doubts. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/human-beings-have-the-incredible-capacity-for-denial-i-think-they-do/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [“If you can convince yourself, you can convince the other fellow,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/if-you-can-convince-yourself-you-can-convince-the-other-fellow/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [Don't lie to yourself about what you can't or can achieve. Convince yourself on a realistic level that you can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-lie-to-yourself-about-what-you-can-t-or-can-achieve-convince/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't ever let anyone convince you that your imagination is wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-bianco/don-t-ever-let-anyone-convince-you-that-your-imagination-is-wrong/) [Giuseppe Bianco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-bianco/) > [It's hard to convince your agents and managers to do theater, because it's not as financially rewarding and it takes up a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-helberg/it-s-hard-to-convince-your-agents-and-managers-to-do-theater-because/) [Simon Helberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-helberg/) > [I guess that is the strange part of the human brain that people have studied for eons - is hatred and self-hatred. 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