Textbook

What would you do if you are allowed to bring one textbook to attend the final examination? (Let's confine ourselves to the written examination for the moment.)

Simple. Rather than studying and trying to recite all those information, one would equip their own textbook as much as possible: key words would be highlighted, bookmarks and memo papers are here and there, with notes scribbled all over.

And it is human. We feel we know everything about medicine by having at hand an encyclopedic textbook. Similarly, we believe we have learnt the material after highlighting the book during reading, or we have a grip on our own life by possessing a lovely Moleskine diary.

It is so easy to mistake means as the aim.

PS. One interesting consequence and (to me) favorable side effect would be the selection of a dedicated textbook by each student. In fact, I would be long to see how many of them would continue to use the one published by our own department rather those internationally renowned classics.