4 ms·

> Does this non-medical phd demand to be addressed as doctor? (Yes, this happened.) WTF is wrong with that!?!? It is polite to address someone the way they wan

> Does this non-medical phd demand to be addressed as doctor? (Yes, this happened.) WTF is wrong with that!?!? It is polite to address someone the way they want to be addressed. I address my PhD holding colleagues as Dr. very often though none are medical doctors. I can't imagine how this is an issue for anyone ever.

x0x0 11y ago
Unless you're an MD, I'm not calling you doctor, and it's a 5-nines indicator you're a jumped up prick. In english, Dr. is a honorific reserved for MDs, dentists, and psychiatrists.
- protomyth 11y ago
  If you ever have to work in an academic setting then you will probably see a lot of folks requiring the title. It's a pecking order thing and there are rules.
  - x0x0 11y ago
    I get that there's an academic pecking order around this. But I work in industry and see previous post about people who couldn't hack it in academia and want to come to industry and treat it as if it were academia. They will not work out, and I'm uninterested in having their pecking order games in my team.
    - protomyth 11y ago
      If there was any confusion, I most definitely meant in an academic setting, and would not generalize my answer to other settings.
  - nommm-nommm 11y ago
    Everyone different ideas. This is what Miss Manners says: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/miss-manners-graduation-cake-is-to-be-eaten-not-reserved/2014/05/20/924f347c-dd23-11e3-b745-87d39690c5c0_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/miss-manners-... DEAR MISS MANNERS: My future sister-in-law just graduated with her PhD She told me to call her “doctor,” but I was always told that if you don’t work with someone directly in their field, that doesn’t apply. Is that true? I understand it’s out of respect, but I have never addressed other persons with their PhD as “doctor.” They also put PhD at the end of their names, teach at universities and don’t go by “doctor.” GENTLE READER: There are two attitudes that individuals and universities take toward the use of the title “doctor” for those who hold PhDs. One is that having been earned, it should be used, not only in professional situations when needed for identification, especially in academic positions, but also socially. The other is not to use it — not socially, but especially not in academic positions, because that level of education being assumed, it need not be expressly mentioned. As one professor (namely, Miss Manners’s Uncle Selig) once put it, “A PhD is like a nose — everyone has one. It’s only conspicuous if you don’t have one.” Which form of snobbery is preferable, or perhaps more effective, others can decide. Obviously, your prospective sister-in-law espouses the first-named approach. And she is covered by two rules: 1. Address people as they wish to be addressed. 2. Try not to annoy your relatives unnecessarily.
    - protomyth 11y ago
      I get the feeling in my extended family that words would be spoken to the sibling to indicate that the future sister-in-law was either "too big for her breeches" or the sibling might want to reconsider the whole thing. No disrespect intended to either the future sister-in-law or Miss Manners, but family is first names or nicknames.
    - x0x0 11y ago
      You're conflating personal and professional. In your private life, you're free to be a prima donna and demand whatever your family and friends will put up with. At work, you're not, and unlike Ms Manners, I'm neither your friend nor a family member that has to humor you. Demanding that people play status games is going to get you a fiat no-hire from me, in part because you will find many of the tasks beneath you. And such a person would be unlikely to tolerate calling his or her managers Mr. / Ms. X. As should be obvious, if being called doctor is a deal breaker for you, there are lots of other employers. I think you're unlikely to find many in the valley that will tolerate such nonsense, but it's a free country -- anyone can keep looking until he or she finds a company that tolerates it.
      - crdoconnor 11y ago
        "Culture fit" in this case appears to mean "don't say or do anything, no matter how minor or symbolic, that might be construed as a challenge to my authority over you". i.e. it's a big fat euphemism. Just say "no prima donnas" on your list of requirements. Most people will be able to read between the lines and know that you're looking for servility, fealty and obedience in your employees. I, for one, would be happy to screen you out based upon those words. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like me, I wouldn't like you and I wouldn't want to waste your time or mine interviewing with you. Those three words would save us both a lot of trouble.
- wtbob 11y ago
  I, OTOH, am appalled by how the medical profession has stolen the title 'doctor.' A doctor should be someone who has expanded the sum total of human knowledge by performing original research; an MD is just a technical degree. I always refer to those who have earned an MD as 'physicians' or 'surgeons.'
amyjess 11y ago
When using last names, sure it's fine to insist on Dr. Smith over Mr./Ms. Smith. But if everybody at the company is on a first-name basis but you insist on having everybody call you Dr. Smith, you're being unreasonable.
- nommm-nommm 11y ago
  I don't think its unreasonable to request someone address you with a professional title in a professional environment. "We're on a first name basis here" is cultural, unlike the other stuff mentioned, so there's that. But its pretty bizarre. Would you also fire them for wearing business attire instead of shorts because "this is a casual environment?"

x0x0 11y ago

Unless you're an MD, I'm not calling you doctor, and it's a 5-nines indicator you're a jumped up prick. In english, Dr. is a honorific reserved for MDs, dentists, and psychiatrists.

protomyth 11y ago
If you ever have to work in an academic setting then you will probably see a lot of folks requiring the title. It's a pecking order thing and there are rules.
- x0x0 11y ago
  I get that there's an academic pecking order around this. But I work in industry and see previous post about people who couldn't hack it in academia and want to come to industry and treat it as if it were academia. They will not work out, and I'm uninterested in having their pecking order games in my team.
  - protomyth 11y ago
    If there was any confusion, I most definitely meant in an academic setting, and would not generalize my answer to other settings.
- nommm-nommm 11y ago
  Everyone different ideas. This is what Miss Manners says: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/miss-manners-graduation-cake-is-to-be-eaten-not-reserved/2014/05/20/924f347c-dd23-11e3-b745-87d39690c5c0_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/miss-manners-... DEAR MISS MANNERS: My future sister-in-law just graduated with her PhD She told me to call her “doctor,” but I was always told that if you don’t work with someone directly in their field, that doesn’t apply. Is that true? I understand it’s out of respect, but I have never addressed other persons with their PhD as “doctor.” They also put PhD at the end of their names, teach at universities and don’t go by “doctor.” GENTLE READER: There are two attitudes that individuals and universities take toward the use of the title “doctor” for those who hold PhDs. One is that having been earned, it should be used, not only in professional situations when needed for identification, especially in academic positions, but also socially. The other is not to use it — not socially, but especially not in academic positions, because that level of education being assumed, it need not be expressly mentioned. As one professor (namely, Miss Manners’s Uncle Selig) once put it, “A PhD is like a nose — everyone has one. It’s only conspicuous if you don’t have one.” Which form of snobbery is preferable, or perhaps more effective, others can decide. Obviously, your prospective sister-in-law espouses the first-named approach. And she is covered by two rules: 1. Address people as they wish to be addressed. 2. Try not to annoy your relatives unnecessarily.
  - protomyth 11y ago
    I get the feeling in my extended family that words would be spoken to the sibling to indicate that the future sister-in-law was either "too big for her breeches" or the sibling might want to reconsider the whole thing. No disrespect intended to either the future sister-in-law or Miss Manners, but family is first names or nicknames.
  - x0x0 11y ago
    You're conflating personal and professional. In your private life, you're free to be a prima donna and demand whatever your family and friends will put up with. At work, you're not, and unlike Ms Manners, I'm neither your friend nor a family member that has to humor you. Demanding that people play status games is going to get you a fiat no-hire from me, in part because you will find many of the tasks beneath you. And such a person would be unlikely to tolerate calling his or her managers Mr. / Ms. X. As should be obvious, if being called doctor is a deal breaker for you, there are lots of other employers. I think you're unlikely to find many in the valley that will tolerate such nonsense, but it's a free country -- anyone can keep looking until he or she finds a company that tolerates it.
    - crdoconnor 11y ago
      "Culture fit" in this case appears to mean "don't say or do anything, no matter how minor or symbolic, that might be construed as a challenge to my authority over you". i.e. it's a big fat euphemism. Just say "no prima donnas" on your list of requirements. Most people will be able to read between the lines and know that you're looking for servility, fealty and obedience in your employees. I, for one, would be happy to screen you out based upon those words. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like me, I wouldn't like you and I wouldn't want to waste your time or mine interviewing with you. Those three words would save us both a lot of trouble.
wtbob 11y ago
I, OTOH, am appalled by how the medical profession has stolen the title 'doctor.' A doctor should be someone who has expanded the sum total of human knowledge by performing original research; an MD is just a technical degree. I always refer to those who have earned an MD as 'physicians' or 'surgeons.'

amyjess 11y ago

When using last names, sure it's fine to insist on Dr. Smith over Mr./Ms. Smith. But if everybody at the company is on a first-name basis but you insist on having everybody call you Dr. Smith, you're being unreasonable.

nommm-nommm 11y ago
I don't think its unreasonable to request someone address you with a professional title in a professional environment. "We're on a first name basis here" is cultural, unlike the other stuff mentioned, so there's that. But its pretty bizarre. Would you also fire them for wearing business attire instead of shorts because "this is a casual environment?"