Topic Battle

The medical profession predates recorded history and has demonstrated remarkable resilience across civilisational transitions. From Hippocrates through medieval barber-surgeons to modern specialists, the figure of the healer persists with notable consistency. The doctor has survived the printing press, the industrial revolution, and the internet—adapting methods whilst maintaining essential function.

Individual practitioners face mandatory retirement after approximately 30-40 years of practice, but the profession regenerates through educational institutions producing 700,000 new physicians annually worldwide. This reproductive capacity ensures continuity that no technology company has yet achieved.

Medical reliability presents more complex metrics. Diagnostic accuracy varies considerably by condition and specialisation, with studies suggesting rates between 75-95% depending on presentation complexity. The phenomenon of diagnostic error affects approximately 12 million adults annually in certain healthcare systems, a figure both concerning and statistically inevitable.

However, the medical profession has built robust systems of redundancy: second opinions, specialist referrals, diagnostic testing, and peer review. When individual reliability falters, systemic reliability compensates. The doctor, unlike the iPhone, can acknowledge uncertainty and seek external verification without experiencing an existential crisis.

Medical accessibility presents a far more troubled landscape. Approximately half the world's population lacks access to essential health services, according to World Health Organisation data. Even in wealthy nations, physician shortages, appointment delays, and insurance barriers create meaningful access constraints.

The average wait time for a general practitioner appointment varies from days to weeks depending on geography and system structure. Specialist consultation may require months. The doctor, despite millennia of existence, remains a scarce resource distributed with profound inequality across populations and socioeconomic strata.

The doctor's daily utility operates on an entirely different temporal scale. Whilst the iPhone demands constant interaction, the doctor functions on appointment-based intervention. The average individual consults a physician approximately three times annually, suggesting either remarkable efficiency or concerning underutilisation.

However, when utility is required, its magnitude is substantial. The doctor can interpret symptoms, prescribe treatments, perform surgical interventions, and occasionally save lives—capabilities the iPhone has yet to master despite its Health app ambitions. The asymmetry of frequency versus importance presents a genuine analytical challenge.

Medical costs defy simple categorisation. A routine consultation may cost $50-300 depending on jurisdiction and insurance status. However, medical intervention can rapidly escalate into figures requiring mortgage-style financing: surgical procedures routinely exceed $10,000-100,000 in certain healthcare markets.

The efficiency question depends entirely on outcome valuation. If the doctor prevents serious illness or extends lifespan, the return on investment becomes essentially incalculable. If the consultation concludes with advice to rest and drink fluids, the cost-benefit analysis shifts considerably. Medicine operates in a domain where value resists conventional economic measurement.