5 ms·
> she managed to become one of the most lauded chemists in the mid-twentieth century > Not a single scientist in either the West or the East ever wondered why
by buran77 5y ago
> she managed to become one of the most lauded chemists in the mid-twentieth century
> Not a single scientist in either the West or the East ever wondered why she never participated in scientific debates
These two statements don't go well together at all. She was never "lauded" anywhere realistically. She got praises like any third rate movie would get today, "fake reviews". All the praise was negotiated and countries like the UK and others just saw a great deal: they'd get a lot of good business in return for a cheap gesture. I remember Queen Elisabeth being "grilled" for inviting the couple to Buckingham and making public appearances together, in what we later found out was an exchange for some very lucrative military contracts. Turns out nobody is below a good arse-kissing for the right price, no matter how high they sit. Good deal nonetheless.
On the other hand nobody on any side of the continent, in academia or anywhere else, had any interest in pointing out the obvious. There was just nothing to gain from doing it, other than a few extra enemies and ruining a deal for your own country.
- mikeryan 5y agoWhile interesting, I do have to say the article is not very well written.
- thriftwy 5y agoI don't see how we should not invalidate all credentials issued by instututions who also gave them to Elena. The lack of punishment and amount of cynicism here would allow one to discard the science, or at least science institutions, in general.
- jacobr1 5y agoHonorary degrees are usually distinct from degrees earned. Some honorary degrees might have much less honor than others as in this case, but they don't debase the earned degrees. What punishment would be fitting? At best an institution could posthumously retract the degree.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- gus_massa 5y agoMost of the awards she received were honorary degrees. They don't enable you to do anything, it's just a fancy cardboard that you can hang in one wall of your home. For comparison Bill Cosby used to have 72 honorary degrees https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_honorary_degrees_awarded_to_Bill_Cosby https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_honorary_degrees_award... I agree it's a shame that university are issuing honorary degrees in exchange of publicity, but nobody takes those cardboards seriously.