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<p>I’m not sure who this is directed towards, but I haven’t used any analogies. The poster I responded to specifically cited being a heart surgeon, but he/she made so many leaps in logic I’m not sure what he/she was even trying to say.</p>
<p>Are they saying ability as a heart surgeon isn’t dependent on standardized test scores? That only a certain part of being heart surgeon is dependent on standardized test scores; if this was the case, I assumed that bedside manner would be the component not dependent on test scores. Or perhaps they were saying that the SAT wasn’t particularly telling because it was 4 years before selection to medical school. It’s odd that they would choose to talk about only the SAT–are they trying to make the case that this group has high SAT’s but not similarly excellent performance in the classroom. That’s obviously false.</p>
<p>I tried to ascertain what point they were trying to make, and then responded to that point alone–what it takes to be a good doctor. I haven’t addressed the race part at all. What I’ve found in these arguments is that anything goes in terms of supporting the “right side,” and that anti-intellectual arguments seem to gain traction (e.g., high test scores/grades aren’t very useful in predicting who will be a good doctor). Once these gain traction in the AA argument, you seem them introduced in other contexts.</p>