Sharp Tongue
There's nothing like some good old fashioned philosophy to get the ball rolling in an episode. In the first season of House, the writers must have jumped on some of the most common: "Damned if You Do," "The Socratic Method," and "Occam's Razor," for instance. All three have been floating around in society for thousands of years, which in itself indicates that their principles are still applicable.
Since I mentioned "Damned if You Do" in previous posts, I'm going to focus on the last two.
The Socratic Method is a technique House uses regularly throughout the show. Lawyers have come to perfect this skill in cross-examination, too. Basically, it consists of asking a series of questions to an opponent, until said opponent contradicts himself. It's a way to prompt the opponent into admitting his own fault, even while he is trying to defend himself.
House wringing confessions out of patients is typically littered with the Socratic Method. Even Wilson does a bit of it, particuarly in "House vs. God," when trying to talk the reluctant patient into surgery:
Wilson: Do you think God wants you to die?
Walter (boy's father): This is the way the Lord often is with his chosen ones. He, he, gives the most trials to those that he loves the most...
Wilson: So you believe is, um, a saint. The way I understand it, one of the
hallmarks of a saint is humility. Someone with true humility would consider
the possibility that God hadn't chosen him for that kind of honor. He'd
consider the possibility that he just had an illness.
Consequently, both father and son see the faultiness of their argument and commit to the surgery.
Now, Occam's Razor (also known as Ockham's Razor) is a bit different. The writers of House can thank a 14th century English philosopher/friar for this handy little saying, in Latin:
entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem,
and for all of us living the 21st century:
entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.
Whittled down to the point, Occam's Razor states that the simplest answer is more that often the correct one:
Chase: ...Two conditions, contracted simultaneously?
Foreman: Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation is always the best.
House: And you think one is simpler than two.
Cameron: Pretty sure it is, yeah.
Of course, that would be too easy for House, wouldn't it?:
House: Why is one simpler than two? It’s lower, lonelier… is it simpler? Each one of these conditions is about a thousand to one shot. That means that any two of them happening at the same time is a million to one shot. Chase says that cardiac infection is a 10 million to one shot, which makes my idea 10 times better than yours. Get a calculator, run the numbers.
What House needs to do is forget about submitting articles for medical journals. Just publish a book on his House-isms and the world would be a better place. More often than not, it seems that his wit is sharper than Occam's Razor, anyway.
Since I mentioned "Damned if You Do" in previous posts, I'm going to focus on the last two.
The Socratic Method is a technique House uses regularly throughout the show. Lawyers have come to perfect this skill in cross-examination, too. Basically, it consists of asking a series of questions to an opponent, until said opponent contradicts himself. It's a way to prompt the opponent into admitting his own fault, even while he is trying to defend himself.
House wringing confessions out of patients is typically littered with the Socratic Method. Even Wilson does a bit of it, particuarly in "House vs. God," when trying to talk the reluctant patient into surgery:
Wilson: Do you think God wants you to die?
Walter (boy's father): This is the way the Lord often is with his chosen ones. He, he, gives the most trials to those that he loves the most...
Wilson: So you believe is, um, a saint. The way I understand it, one of the
hallmarks of a saint is humility. Someone with true humility would consider
the possibility that God hadn't chosen him for that kind of honor. He'd
consider the possibility that he just had an illness.
Consequently, both father and son see the faultiness of their argument and commit to the surgery.
Now, Occam's Razor (also known as Ockham's Razor) is a bit different. The writers of House can thank a 14th century English philosopher/friar for this handy little saying, in Latin:
entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem,
and for all of us living the 21st century:
entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.
Whittled down to the point, Occam's Razor states that the simplest answer is more that often the correct one:
Chase: ...Two conditions, contracted simultaneously?
Foreman: Occam’s Razor. The simplest explanation is always the best.
House: And you think one is simpler than two.
Cameron: Pretty sure it is, yeah.
Of course, that would be too easy for House, wouldn't it?:
House: Why is one simpler than two? It’s lower, lonelier… is it simpler? Each one of these conditions is about a thousand to one shot. That means that any two of them happening at the same time is a million to one shot. Chase says that cardiac infection is a 10 million to one shot, which makes my idea 10 times better than yours. Get a calculator, run the numbers.
What House needs to do is forget about submitting articles for medical journals. Just publish a book on his House-isms and the world would be a better place. More often than not, it seems that his wit is sharper than Occam's Razor, anyway.
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