--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If it were not for the great variability…" description: "\"If it were not for the great variability among individuals, medicine might as well be a science, not an art.\" — William Osler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-osler-2992_art_if-it-were-not-for-the-great-variability_1783811.png" --- # If it were not for the great variability among… ![“If it were not for the great variability among individuals, medicine might as well be a science, not an art.” quote by William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-osler-2992_art_if-it-were-not-for-the-great-variability_1783811.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-osler-2992_art_if-it-were-not-for-the-great-variability_1783811.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d32/william-osler-2992_art_if-it-were-not-for-the-great-variability_1783811.png) > “If it were not for the great variability among individuals, medicine might as well be a science, not an art.” [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Individual variability makes medicine an art, requiring personal judgment beyond scientific data. **In simple terms:** Medicine is both science and art. Key Takeaway Balance data with empathy. Themes medicine variability art Mood inspirational analytical Type professional philosophical When to use this quote - patient care - medical education - research design - policy making Key Concepts clinical judgment personalized care humanism Questions to Reflect On - How can doctors honor patient individuality? - What role does intuition play in medicine? A Different Perspective Standardization can ignore uniqueness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Great Variability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-variability-1884798/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individuals Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuals-medicine-1884797/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Medicine Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine-science-630639/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Variability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variability/) [Variability Individuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variability-individuals-1884796/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/medicine-is-a-science-of-uncertainty-and-an-art-of-probability/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [Variability is the law of life, and as no two faces are the same, so no two bodies are alike, and no two individuals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/variability-is-the-law-of-life-and-as-no-two-faces-are-the-same-so-no/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [We profess to teach the principles and practice of medicine, or, in other words, the science and art of medicine. 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Never think that lack of variability is stability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/never-never-never-think-that-s-one-lesson-you-should-have-in-life/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [There are various non-statistical tools that have been typically developed by lean companies, notably by Toyota for minimizing variability in production, such as standardization,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaaki-imai/there-are-various-non-statistical-tools-that-have-been-typically/) [Masaaki Imai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaaki-imai/) > [“Experiences with finite variability become less engaging because they eventually become predictable. Businesses with finite variability are not inferior per se, they just operate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nir-eyal/experiences-with-finite-variability-become-less-engaging-because-they/) [Nir Eyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nir-eyal/) > [The modern joint stock firm is the outcome of innumerable decisions made by individual entrepreneurs, owners and managers. For these decision makers the choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-d-chandler-jr/the-modern-joint-stock-firm-is-the-outcome-of-innumerable-decisions/) [Alfred D. Chandler, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-d-chandler-jr/) > [The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-facts-of-variability-of-the-struggle-for-existence-of-adaptation/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nature will eventually do what nature has always done. It will respond in a self-stabilizing manner over the long term with moderate variability over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-sununu/nature-will-eventually-do-what-nature-has-always-done-it-will-respond/) [John H. Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-sununu/) ## More by William Osler > [As it can be maintained that all the great advances have come from men under forty, so the history of the world shows that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/as-it-can-be-maintained-that-all-the-great-advances-have-come-from/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [No man is really happy or safe without a hobby ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/no-man-is-really-happy-or-safe-without-a-hobby/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [But whatever you do, take neither yourselves nor your fellow-creatures too seriously. 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