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by causi 1208 days ago
Not sure this point applies to software, but I find a doctor saying oops to be very comforting. If I know when he screws up I don't have to be suspicious of him the rest of the time.
1 comments

True story from my rotation on General Surgery during my third year of medical school (UCLA; 1973):

I'm in the O.R. doing what 3rd year med students do, namely holding a retractor to help keep the operative site open and perfectly exposed.

The attending, a very senior surgeon, vice-chair of the department, tells the senior resident, "When you accidentally nick a big blood vessel, instead of saying 'Oops," say "There!'"

My father is a retired surgeon, and has told me he was trained the same way — to say “there” rather than “oops”. The rest of the OR staff know what you mean, and it doesn’t spook a patient or other people who might overhear.