For what it is worth, the use of the term "Doctor" was originally
restricted to those who obtained a Doctorate of Philosophy, Theology etc..
Medical practitioners, who were by and large quacks (and doubled as
barbers) up until the 20th century, usurped the term "doctor" to provide
themselves an air of respectibility, intellectualism and competence
undeserved either by their ethics or abilities to fight disease.
Subsequently, Doctor has now
become solely the provenence of physicians in our society.
Note that "Doctor" is used for physician preferentially in English. In
French and Spannish and other languages (German etc.), Doctor/Doktor is
still a term used to connote a level of scholarship and intellectual
development, and not so closely associated with medical practice.
I suspect the respect accorded to physicians in our culture is due largely
to the surprize people had when some of the treatments actually worked
early on in the advent of modern medicine slightly before the turn of the
century.
I was unaware that Johns Hopkins PhD grads used the term Doctor socially.
"Never Ascribe to Malice that which can be explained by Ignorance."
John J. Peloquin
Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521
On Mon, 13 Jul 1998, Feldman, Jack (Jack) wrote:
> Well, here go the flames on a non LBC subject, but at least this one isn't
> vulgar. Not being an academic, I don't use my title. My wife, who is also a
> Ph.D. says that only those who graduated from Johns Hopkins get to call
> themselves Dr. However, it does give me license to laugh at other's follies.
> Note that Jay is commenting about a message that he hasn't read. That's why
> I don't think a Ph.D. means much.
I think it means that you can swallow your pride, work like a dog, put up
with arbitrary and meaningless rules and generally manipulate and/or work
within the system up to a certain point to establish a truth as you see
it.
> If the experience doesn't teach you not to
> comment when you don't know what you are commenting about, then what good is
> it. Unfortunately folks who have one often manage to comment when they don't
> know what is happening.
>
> Just plain Jack
>
> > ----------
> > From: EPMD- van syckel,
> > John[SMTP:vansyck@hq.1perscom.heidelberg.army.mil]
> > Sent: Monday, July 13, 1998 9:33 AM
> > To: Feldman, Jack (Jack); 'mgs@autox.team.net'
> > Subject: RE: Credit Where Credit is Due
> >
> > Don't know what the quotes were because I didn't get the original
> > email. I'll bet whatever they were, they were not in my Ph.D.
> > dissertation.
> >
> > Sorry to bomb the list with this, I just had to answer.
> >
> > "Jay"
> > John S. van Syckel
> > 1971 MGB (BRG, no PO)
> >
> > Mike Cousins got two of his three quotes correct. The one he didn't
> > know was attributed to Wilson Misner (sp), who I believe was an early
> > Hollywood writer.
> > I remember it because I cam up with the same words years later. It
> > must be a common thought to all Ph.D. dissertation writers.
> > Jack
> >
>
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