Sky Babies and Capuccino Foam

Behold the Hovering Sky Baby Medical specialists — pediatricians and proctologists — probably believe themselves to occupy a higher plane than general physicians. Their extra training feels like a badge of specialness. They're the specialest! We cling to what makes us feel special and ignore the rest. And it's that second part that I'd like to discuss. In the long arc of their education, an orthopedist's specialty training is barely an eye blink. From 30,000 feet, they are 90% doctor and 10% specialist. From 50,000-foot view, they're 95% educated humans, 4% doctor, and 1% specialist. And from the atmospheric view, they are babies who came an unimaginably long way before learning the word "orthopedist." The banal stuff was the miraculous accomplishment. The rest is frosting. We talk about standing on the shoulders of giants, but we all stand on the shoulders of our younger selves. One's specialness is just a thin extra layer. We accomplished much more before, but we casually dismiss…