Art & Creativity Quote by William Osler

Osler is quietly dismantling the romance of genius by insisting that medicine (and by extension, science) is less about grand theories than the disciplined, unglamorous work of noticing. He calls observation an "art", not a reflex. That word choice matters: an art must be practiced, critiqued, and refined; it can be botched by ego, haste, or habit. In late 19th-century medicine, as laboratories and new instruments promised objective truth, Osler points back to the clinician's eyes and judgment. Machines can amplify facts, but they can't replace attention.

The second clause sharpens into an ethical warning. It's not enough to perceive; you must also report. "Brief and plain language" is a direct rebuke to the professional fog that lets uncertainty masquerade as sophistication. Osler is signaling that muddled writing often masks muddled thinking, and that in medicine the cost of that ambiguity is paid by patients, not prose stylists. The subtext is almost managerial: a good physician is accountable to colleagues and to the record, and that accountability requires clarity.

There's also a democratic streak here. Plain language is a leveling tool; it makes knowledge portable, teachable, checkable. Osler's intent isn't to scold for elegance but to argue for precision with consequences. Observation is hard because reality is noisy; recording is hard because honesty is.