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While a PhD is short for a Doctor of Philosophy, at universities such as Princeton or Stanford the title "Dr." is reserved for medical doctors. At less secure s
by Syzygies 6y ago
While a PhD is short for a Doctor of Philosophy, at universities such as Princeton or Stanford the title "Dr." is reserved for medical doctors. At less secure schools one sees the title imposed by administrators. It's a wonderful poker tell; you'd think people would be aware what they're signalling? Or they know, but we're not their intended audience.
In Germany, "Herr Professor Doktor" is often in jest, as one usually restricts to the highest ranking title. And titles are fading, a form of class-consciousness. To use "Doktor" unnecessarily reveals one is not a Professor.
So I don't understand the cultural context for this author's use of "Dr." It's welded to his web site dr-axel.de; perhaps this is a stage name like "Dr. Ruth".
- duxup 6y agoI always just read it as "this person is proud they put the work in to get that title" and leave it at that. Life is too short to worry about the the other stuff ;) Granted like you I noticed it too, it is something that I think I've seen less commonly used too ;)
- rauschma 6y agoEverything you’ve mentioned plays a role. It has also worked well marketing-wise: In Germany, people take you more seriously; in the US it doesn’t matter, but a title is still more memorable.
- gumby 6y ago> at universities such as Princeton or Stanford the title "Dr." is reserved for medical doctors. At Stanford at least, this (admirable) attitude is more common in the med school and biological sciences where the ambiguity is common than In other departments, especially where you might not know the person. In the scheme of things this is not a big deal.