CHANGES ARE COMING TO YOU, LIKE IT OR NOT!

SOME PEOPLE REALLY BELIEVE THEY ARE THEY TOO BIG FOR CRITICISM, THEY FEEL OFFENDED WHEN YOU CONFRONT THEM WITH A TRUTH THEY CAN'T BELIEVE.
Everyday Big professors are reminded how important they are by our praises and regular consultations.  Professors grow on us because they have knowledge we believe to be the truth, and because often they are right rather than wrong.  But every time they are solicited, they practice a certain logic they have perfected to come to a logical conclusion.  They pass on this logical process to their students and friends and, as a result, a university culture is created and passed on!  Such a system, however, needs to be challenged once in a while to be made better.  It is made better when it accepts change, because accepting new plausible changes prepares us to wider sorts of challenges, it is the strength of diversity, it prepares us against challenges to come, challenges we will have to reckon with at one point or another. It is the strength of these United States. It is why this country is better prepared than other countries which is somewhat monolithic, culture wise!

When monolithic systems are confronted, when our professors are confronted and when they refuse to face the truthful difference, they reject it with anger and become defensive and somewhat violent (not necessarily physical violence) in their tone.
I was in a recent meeting where I suggested to an eminent oncologist that we look into potential new targeting therapy for a rare type of sarcoma.  An eminent man who I admire became irate or vexed at an unexpected level which surprised me.  It is the truth that everyone nowadays should be looking to target therapy for answers in cancer.  But his reaction was off the wall!   I can understand that evidence based medicine forces us to argue only what has been proven,  but in a university setting, the non-proven should challenge us to look for more, it should be where we start if the goal is to push the envelope further.  I don't know what was in the man's drink to be so offended by the truth we all face, the puzzle that is cancer. I don't know under what "University environment" political pressure he finds himself, so I give him a break, give him slack !  He was just defending his turf !

But one thing for sure, let's be more receptive to change, because it will come, and impose on us whether we like it or not!  You can resist it for a while, but one of these days even your own son or a dear friend will wake you up to it!