I watch damn little TV, even on the road. But now I’m building my travel schedule around episodes of House. Love the show! Love the stories! Love the pace! Love Hugh Laurie!
But the “guru” is never far beneath the surface for me. “House” is the best explication I’ve ever seen of the Scientific Method. It is insanely sophisticated. Below you’ll find a list I just stripped from a PPT Slide I created on “House”:
Newtonian!!!!! (Experimental method is sacred!!!!!!!)
Acknowledge, even revel in what we don’t know
Crystalline clarity of reasoning
Intuitive leaps (often wrong, but acknowledges that error is the key success driver—e.g., Brilliant Failed experiments)
Breathtaking speed! (Fast tries. “Fastest ‘O.O.D.A. Loops’ win”—John Boyd)
Action! Action! Action!
Test! Test! Test!
Failures acknowledged instantly (as important as success; next try starts immediately without fanfare)
Carefully controlled experimentation—Hypothesis tests (e.g., stop all drugs, add back one at a time)
Problem-centric, not patient-centric (Life = Puzzle-solving)
In a (life or death) rush, yet orderly about the scientific process
Aggressive risk taking (What’s the alternative?) (Can appear reckless to others)
Exudes inspiring confidence (especially when the success odds are low)
Sky high staff standards
Doesn’t suffer fools lightly (especially bosses)
Hates … routine/paperwork/problems that don’t enhance his medical understanding
Students as scientific peers (but demands loyalty)
Constant, impromptu mini-Brainstorm sessions (Thinking = Cool)
Calm though life and death at stake (no matter what, must view-measure results of experiments as cleanly as possible)
Egocentric (but allow data to sway—or reverse—opinion)
Impatient!
Tenacious! Relentless!
Curious!
Obsessed! (rotten at “work-life balance”)
Fact is, I believe insanely in virtually all the above. “Try something!” has been my principal rallying cry (“strategy”) for 4 decades! You’ll find a wee Special Presentation on this attached.