I sometimes wonder, why there isn't a well defined pathway to get a PhD for work done through independent research.
Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
271–280 of 337 posts
Re: Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
#272Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wrong. Most foreign PHDs are in their early to mid twenties when they start
Wrong. The average age of international PhD students at entry to a program in the US is 31.7. [iie.org Graduate Learning Overseas Data].
Those people are just trying to gain admission to american jobs. The numbers are way different for the people with real research potential at top american schools.
Re: Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
#273A PhD is research training. Is he doing to do research now, or is this just, like everyone seems to be treating it - a big trophy? Does anyone ever stop to question their credentialist mindset? I heard a character in a video game say indignantly "Excuse me, I have a PhD", and I thought, well, that's not realistic dialog because a PhDs is something you have done, not something that you 'have'. But then people here are…
I don't see what's wrong with saying "I have a PhD". It's equivalent to what (I think) you're saying: "I have a few qualifications (pertaining to research)".
Well, it's annoying and usually arrogant. Just like people who put Ph.D. in their LinkedIn or Twitter names. I don't care that you have a Ph.D., and if you flaunt it, I'll think you're dumber than someone with a bachelor's degree.
Re: Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
#274Seriously? Brown was removed from the title, because one person took it in bad faith? Would Harvard have been removed from a title?
Just wait until Elon Musk founds Texas Institute of Technology and Science.
Re: Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
#275This resonates with me as someone going back to get an MD. I’m early thirties and a new father. Working through undergrad science classes is kicking my ass, so I’m really impressed that this guy’s brain was plastic enough to handle the rigors of theoretical physics. Inspirational on many levels!
That's because brain/synaptic plasticity in relation to learning was made up on the spot and simply repeated ever since. It's just been a convenient shared crutch to not learn new concepts after a certain age because the incentives are not strong enough for most people.
Is this true? I would love to read further on this. For one reason or another, I am experiencing some concern lately about my waning ability to learn new concepts as I age, or at least my perception of it. I would be chuffed to learn that it was all just in my head (so to speak).
Re: Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
#276Earlier quoted context omitted.
IME (US) the typical successful phd student works 60-80 hours a week, so… good luck working twice that hard for 5 years.
Often more than that. During the dissertation phase 16 hour days almost every day can be common. It is brutal. It can be worth it, but it is brutal.
What productive thing could you do 16 hours day? Study paint drying in a lab?
Re: Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wrong. The average age of international PhD students at entry to a program in the US is 31.7. [iie.org Graduate Learning Overseas Data].
Those people are just trying to gain admission to american jobs. The numbers are way different for the people with real research potential at top american schools.
That's just moving the goalposts. Not really adding anything to the argument here.
The argument is just graduate students, not subset of graduate students that is impossible to measure with any accuracy based on available data due to your completely arbitrary and nebulous definitions. Also, even if we take your new arbitrary and meaningless 'definition', we can no longer use the key word from the original discussion: ----most----.
My point stands. Non-native graduate students skew older than native students by quite a bit.
Re: Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
#278Earlier quoted context omitted.
A few decent universities in the UK appear to be somewhat amenable to the idea of part-time distance learning for a PhD. I don't think University of York is considered a bad school by any measure, and it has a program for such things. https://www.york.ac.uk/distance-learning/courses/#computer-s...
I wonder if anyone knows the answer to this Q. Back in the day, UK universities, and in particular Open University, often let you take as long as you liked to finish a Phd. I knew someone who in the 1980s got a lecturer job at Cambridge Uni with only a Masters, and over a period of 16 yrs got a Phd part-time. But it seems this got clamped down, and now unis don't like to see anyone take longer than 6 yrs to complete…
Brian May started a PhD in astrophysics at Imperial college in the 70s and dropped out when Queen took off. He then re-registered in 2006 and completed so it was clearly possible at that time.
Re: Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
#279Very inspiring story indeed. But the first question resonating in my mind is... Why?? While what the student did is good. It serves as bad inspiration for too many people going to college these days just because they want to. And not because of a reason. If the cost of education was low, then I would not be opposed to it. But we all know stories of people who say they are "going back to school" for very minimal benef…
> It serves as bad inspiration for too many people going to college these days just because they want to. And not because of a reason
Self-fulfillment is a reason.
Re: Physics Student Earns PhD at Age 89
#280Earlier quoted context omitted.
Generally speaking, American PhD programs expect that you'll be spending at least a year (and generally two) on graduate-level courses before engaging in full-time research. European-style undergraduate degrees are much more focussed, with far fewer "gen-ed" requirements, and you're expected to pick up any extra background material en passant, alongside your thesis work. It's a philosophical difference that doesn't m…
The difference comes from the fact that smart Europeans graduate secondary school with the equivalent of an American university grad's education. U.S. universities must therefore offer more coursework in order to bring their postgrads up to snuff with what's expected of a fresh university grad in the rest of the developed world.
Having lived in Europe for almost twenty years, with a spouse teaching in a European secondary school, and with the utmost respect to my European colleagues, please allow me to assure you that this is not even remotely the case.