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Abstract

sary to be a master. And even after many years of study and practice, you will still face times when crisis will come suddenly. There will arise situations where you won’t have all the answers.</p><p id="f3a9">Throughout history, the practice of medicine was really an imprecise art. In medieval times, there was even the curious job of a barber surgeon. In those days, it was the barbers who had tools like scissors and scalpels. Being in possession of these utensils, they would often be called upon to perform surgery.</p><p id="bc4c">Come in for a haircut, leave with brain surgery. That about describes the experience of going to a barber during the Middle Ages. A few days ago, passing next to a barbershop, I sneaked a peak inside. No longer do they perform lobotomies, but the snips and cuts of hair require a skillful precision if you want to get it right.</p><p id="7604">In the hands of a master barber, someone’s hair becomes a masterpiece. Yet, this type of expertise requires years of training and experience. It doesn’t come overnight.</p><p id="e4fc">In the modern world, we have the notion of the “overnight success”. It is the person who seems to have come out of nowhere, and risen to the top at breakneck speed. While this is a popular image, usually the reality is much more complex. As professor Anders Ericsson <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u81/Ericsson__Roring__and_Nandagopal__2007_.pdf">demonstrated</a>, there are long hours of hard work behind every genius.</p><h1 id="970d">Ancient lessons for the modern world</h1><p id="cf62">Creative work now is in many ways like the art of medicine in the olden days. Ancient physicians would observe, and then try to apply their learnings, hoping it would work.</p><p id="9248">Today, a large section of the population in the developed world performs jobs that are often classified as “knowledge work”. People sit in front of screens typing away. No longer is the work mechanical, putting one widget from one place to the other.</p><p id="554e">Instead, it requires improvisation, thinking, and acting from one moment to the next. You get imprecise information, and you are required to complete tasks while often under the fog of war. It’s an art rather than a science.</p><p id="8476">In a world obscured by many unknown unknowns, chaos theory reigns supreme. A butterfly may flap its wings, unleashing a chain of events that cause you to trip and break your leg. Due to the unpredictability of many even

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ts, you never know what the future will bring.</p><p id="9298">That’s why you need to spend a lot of time learning. Being a perpetual student, always keeping an open mind is the key to having the ability to navigate a complex world. Whether it was Socrates’s “the only thing I know is that I know nothing”, or Zen Buddhism’s “beginner’s mind”, the ultimate lesson ancient sages left us with is about being humble in face of events.</p><p id="451a">Even as a master, you will always encounter situations that puzzle you. Surprise peaks curiosity, which is a basic building block of discovery. After all, scientific progress starts with someone saying “<i>that’s odd</i>”.</p><h1 id="bcbb">Art is long, and life is short</h1><p id="3697">Art is long, and life is short. The original aphorism of Hippocrates is often reversed, exposing a whole different meaning. It gives an emphasis on art, instead of life. Reflecting back upon the steps, columns, and fallen pieces of the temple, I now understand what this signifies. Hippocrates, however short his life was, left the world a legacy.</p><p id="483e">More than two and a half millennia after he practiced his art on that tiny island, doctors still recite his oath. The knowledge that he created served as a building block upon which further knowledge was piled upon. Thanks to his efforts, and that of the people who came before and after him, the world has progressed far enough to find cures for many illnesses.</p><p id="ef77">Given that today we are living through a global pandemic, I now see that experience of going to Kos with a whole new pair of eyes. An enormous string of doctors, including those preceding Hippocrates and whose names we might never know, built up knowledge incrementally so that today we could develop vaccines in record time. Through their work, they left a legacy.</p><h1 id="1f8a">Short Takeaway</h1><p id="c41a">Aphorisms are short sentences that convey a certain wise lesson about the world. They can be used to build up your own view of the world and how to act in it. Whenever facing a difficult situation, you can always go back to them to guide your decision.</p><p id="e7a6">Hippocrates in one of his works wrote that “life is short, and art is long”. Use it to remind yourself of the fact that it requires long hours of study and practice to master a craft. However, even then there will be situations that might throw you off your guard. That’s why it is important to stay humble.</p></article></body>

The Wisdom Of Hippocrates: Why Life Is Short, And Art Is Long

How to master the art of life by putting art in life.

“Life is short, and art is long.” — Hippocrates

Certain sentences evoke eternal truths about the world. Often arising from much longer pieces, they succinctly capture essential lessons to keep in mind. If applied, these nuggets of wisdom have the power to transform a person’s direction in life.

Two years ago, during a much more innocent time, I visited the island of Kos. A dry rock lying in the Aegean Sea, many millennia ago this Greek island was home to history’s most famous physician, Hippocrates. While he was not the first doctor, his contribution to medicine was so revolutionary that he is often dubbed “The Father of Medicine”.

I made it over to the Asclepeion, the greatest healing temple of the ancient world. Sitting on the rolling slopes of a hill, surrounded by trees, it is a picture of idyllic beauty. From its highest points you can gaze towards the sea.

On the other side of the short open water separating Kos from the mainland coast of Asia Minor, you can spot the entrance to Bodrum in Turkey. In the ancient world this was the Greek city of Halicarnassus, home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This setting was the perfect place to contrive great lessons about the universe.

An aphorism is like an elevator pitch for an idea. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek doctor, wrote down one of history’s greatest pieces of wisdom. The art of the aphorism was strong in this one. His words captured very essential insights about the world. They are timeless, still unraveling the mysteries of how things work many millennia after being uttered.

Life is short, and art is long.

“Life is short, and art is long,” thus began Hippocrates. He continued: “the crisis fleeting; experience perilous, and decision difficult.”

Art is often used as a synonym for skill. It takes a long time to acquire the experience necessary to be a master. And even after many years of study and practice, you will still face times when crisis will come suddenly. There will arise situations where you won’t have all the answers.

Throughout history, the practice of medicine was really an imprecise art. In medieval times, there was even the curious job of a barber surgeon. In those days, it was the barbers who had tools like scissors and scalpels. Being in possession of these utensils, they would often be called upon to perform surgery.

Come in for a haircut, leave with brain surgery. That about describes the experience of going to a barber during the Middle Ages. A few days ago, passing next to a barbershop, I sneaked a peak inside. No longer do they perform lobotomies, but the snips and cuts of hair require a skillful precision if you want to get it right.

In the hands of a master barber, someone’s hair becomes a masterpiece. Yet, this type of expertise requires years of training and experience. It doesn’t come overnight.

In the modern world, we have the notion of the “overnight success”. It is the person who seems to have come out of nowhere, and risen to the top at breakneck speed. While this is a popular image, usually the reality is much more complex. As professor Anders Ericsson demonstrated, there are long hours of hard work behind every genius.

Ancient lessons for the modern world

Creative work now is in many ways like the art of medicine in the olden days. Ancient physicians would observe, and then try to apply their learnings, hoping it would work.

Today, a large section of the population in the developed world performs jobs that are often classified as “knowledge work”. People sit in front of screens typing away. No longer is the work mechanical, putting one widget from one place to the other.

Instead, it requires improvisation, thinking, and acting from one moment to the next. You get imprecise information, and you are required to complete tasks while often under the fog of war. It’s an art rather than a science.

In a world obscured by many unknown unknowns, chaos theory reigns supreme. A butterfly may flap its wings, unleashing a chain of events that cause you to trip and break your leg. Due to the unpredictability of many events, you never know what the future will bring.

That’s why you need to spend a lot of time learning. Being a perpetual student, always keeping an open mind is the key to having the ability to navigate a complex world. Whether it was Socrates’s “the only thing I know is that I know nothing”, or Zen Buddhism’s “beginner’s mind”, the ultimate lesson ancient sages left us with is about being humble in face of events.

Even as a master, you will always encounter situations that puzzle you. Surprise peaks curiosity, which is a basic building block of discovery. After all, scientific progress starts with someone saying “that’s odd”.

Art is long, and life is short

Art is long, and life is short. The original aphorism of Hippocrates is often reversed, exposing a whole different meaning. It gives an emphasis on art, instead of life. Reflecting back upon the steps, columns, and fallen pieces of the temple, I now understand what this signifies. Hippocrates, however short his life was, left the world a legacy.

More than two and a half millennia after he practiced his art on that tiny island, doctors still recite his oath. The knowledge that he created served as a building block upon which further knowledge was piled upon. Thanks to his efforts, and that of the people who came before and after him, the world has progressed far enough to find cures for many illnesses.

Given that today we are living through a global pandemic, I now see that experience of going to Kos with a whole new pair of eyes. An enormous string of doctors, including those preceding Hippocrates and whose names we might never know, built up knowledge incrementally so that today we could develop vaccines in record time. Through their work, they left a legacy.

Short Takeaway

Aphorisms are short sentences that convey a certain wise lesson about the world. They can be used to build up your own view of the world and how to act in it. Whenever facing a difficult situation, you can always go back to them to guide your decision.

Hippocrates in one of his works wrote that “life is short, and art is long”. Use it to remind yourself of the fact that it requires long hours of study and practice to master a craft. However, even then there will be situations that might throw you off your guard. That’s why it is important to stay humble.