Gawande described the paradox at the heart of surgery — and of life. To take any risk requires confidence, but that same confidence can blind you to danger. The key is holding both truths simultaneously: having the courage to act decisively while maintaining the humility to recognize when things are going wrong. He illustrated this through the story of Mrs. C, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor whose surgeon was humble enough to listen when a young resident sensed something was wrong after routine neck surgery.