Real Credibility
If you tell a man that there are 300 billion stars in the universe, he’ll believe you. But if you tell him a bench has just been painted, he has to touch it to be sure.
The Right to Remain Silent
Though everyone has an equal right to speak, not all have earned an equal right to be taken seriously. –Hubert Humphrey
A Sure Sign
Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died. –Erma Bombeck
Confidence in the Expert
Surgeon to patient: “I had to remove one of your livers, but you’ll be up and around in no time, or I don’t know my medicine.” –Hoest
Life Credibility
No one should pay attention to a man delivering a lecture or a sermon on his “philosophy of life” until he knows exactly how he treats his wife, his children, his neighbors, his friends, his subordinates, and his enemies. –Sydney Harris
Clopton’s Law
For every credibility gap there is a gullibility fill. –Richard Clopton
Making It Plausible
People will accept your idea much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first. –David Comins
Heal Thyself
Dr. Evan O’Neill Kane, chief surgeon of the Kane Summit Hospital in New York, had been a surgeon for almost four decades. He was fascinated by the possibility of the use of local anesthetics in areas that had always used a general anesthetic. He was concerned about the dangers of what he considered the overuse of general anesthesia. He wanted to find an appendectomy candidate who would be willing to do it with a local only. As Dr. Kane had performed nearly four thousand such operations, he was confident this would be a good type of operation to do with such an approach. But it was tough to find someone who was willing to stay awake through such a surgery. Finally, he found a willing candidate, and on February 15, he wheeled in the patient, prepped him, and prepared for the operation. The surgeon deftly cut into the patient, found the troublesome appendix, and took it out without a hitch. The operation was a rousing success, and the patient recovered nicely.
The date was 1921 and the patient was none other than Dr. Kane himself. He had succeeded in taking out his own appendix under local anesthetic. Dr. Kane gave new meaning to the expression “Physician, heal thyself!”