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> California has a tendency to overthink Insofar as California is politically Democratic and Democrats are becoming the party of the degree-holder - I think we
by gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
> California has a tendency to overthink
Insofar as California is politically Democratic and Democrats are becoming the party of the degree-holder - I think we could stop with the above; classic academic problem.
- starkd 6y agoNot against degree-holding, but degrees are generally more about status than truth-seeking. Took me a long time to realize this.
- gnusty_gnurc 6y agoYea I’m not either but I tend to find through personal experience that PhDs specifically can be uniquely inept at doing common, basic things. And there’s a tendency towards disagreeable temperament. Their narrow theoretical expertise ends up translating into an inability to contextualize that wealth of information and understanding. And there’s an inherent conflict with others’ values. Someone who’s devoted themselves to field X will be constantly frustrated to find that others don’t place it above everything else.
- ksaj 6y agoWe used to have a phrase: So smart they're stupid. I don't think this is actually a general rule. But it isn't hard to find examples. Here is an astrophysicist pulling off his best Ralph Wiggums: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.5516171/astrophysicist-gets-magnets-stuck-in-nose-while-trying-to-fight-face-touching-1.5516178 https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-e... This story starts off ridiculously, and just keeps going deeper. He was even trying to shove pliers up his nose...
- starkd 6y agoI remember that! Had to be the most embarrassing ER visit. Right up there with the guy who died pee'ing on an electric fence.