Re: Dr. Bill Gates, Philanthropist, Genius, and Visionary. FSF? What has it done?

[Da'Punk-A]

Karen Hill wrote:

> Honorary PhDs are real degrees.  In fact in academic circles, an
> honorary PhD is thought of very highly because to earn one a person has
> to accomplish a great deal in life rather than just sit through 7 years
> of school like other doctors.
[...]
> Once again, his PhDs are not pretend.  They are legitimate degrees.

Karen thinks that "honorary" == "real".

Just take a look at any university's honorary rolls and you will see
that the vast majority of honorary degrees are given to wealthy people
who donate lots of money to the institution.

You also get some "political" ones like Nelson Mandela.  He's got
/lots/ of honorary doctorates.  No doubt you think that his 28 years in
prison was some form of substitute for "7 years of school".

BTW. you don't get a PhD for going to school for 7 years.  You have to
complete a sizeable amount of original research and make a genuine
contribution to knowledge.  That is, a scholarly contribution (eg
dissertation/thesis) not financial contribution.