/sci/ - Science & Math

I fucking lol'd.

Isn't there a whole bunch of crazy shit you can have a Ph.D in?

>>4717205

Did you know that Shaq has a Ph.D.?

'those who dont know history are doomed to repeat it'

I'm too lazy to find that "HAHAHAH FAGGOT" black and white image with the fat bearded man laughing.

I would post that if I felt like searching.

>>4717212
>medieval history
>implying this shit isn't happening right now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfHf3cLJYV8

>>4717209
It's an Ed.D. Those don't count.

>History Ph.D
>on welfare
>teaching at community college
>landwhale w/ tattoos

Sounds about right.

>>4717214

My gf holds a masters in American history, is working on her Ph.D, teaches at a community college, and does fairly well for herself.

It appears this woman requires foodstamps because she eats too much goddamn food.

I resent this thread:

I received my PhD in Medieval History at Princeton University in 2006, with a dissertation on the historiography of the the social implications of the ethics of Thomas Aquinas on medieval economics. I doubt any of you fools could complete anything related to that at all.

>>4717250
look mommy I memorised the Encyclopedia

>>4717246
why in the fuck would you be with someone who studies history?

>>4717209
a phD in ballin

>>4717258
Because no doubt she's way hotter than the sexiest girl in any math, science or engineering department.

>>4717260
Licensed practitioner of illin'

>>4717258
a) I'm guessing you haven't seen the selection of females to choose from that study math or science

b) What is wrong with someone studying or liking history? Granted it's not interesting or lucrative enough to dedicate my life towards studying it, but there is nothing wrong with it.

>>4717250
I don't think it's possible to find a more ridiculous AND specific dissertation topic. Your bibliography must have contained a grand total of 1 source.

>>4717273
> b) What is wrong with someone studying or liking history?
Nothing. Until we have to pay for them because they're flat fucking broke for taking out a loan to pay for a useless education.

In one meeting, the mathematician Von Neumann is said to have had a discussion with a noted Harvard Byzantine History Professor. At the end of the discussion, the Professor is said to have admitted that Von Neumann knew more about the subject than himself.

This anecdote has reinforced every negative opinion I have ever had for people with a degree in history.

>>4717250
How can society criticize math for not having any real application when it's what allows modern science to be what it is and not laugh at such a practical ph.d?

>>4717284
Quite so. It's admirable to undertake further study, but if you are studying in a field with no public need (local or global) and no employment prospects (non academic), you really shouldn't be surprised that things are tough.

A PhD is an impressive feat, but it doesn't make you better or more entitled than others.

With out contributing to society, you shouldn't expect society to contribute to you.

>>4717301
>a once in a millennia genius knew more about a subject than someone of lesser intellect
>history is shit

Sound logic anon.

>>4717311
pretty much this, though history is obviously garbage in terms of practicality

>>4717311
It still wasn't Neumann's field of study. For an individual (the history professor) to focus their attention on a field of study as specific as that warrants superior knowledge in said subject in relation to ALL, methinks. The fact that that's not the case suggests that the subject itself must not require a significant amount of skill to pick up.

>>4717304
Math is a punching bag of academia because 99% of society never sees it at work.

They use elaborate algorithms to store and retrieve emails on their smart phones, but they don't see anything more than "1 new email".

Math is an enormous part of society, but because its completely intangible, people don't have an appreciation for its impact.

>>4717315
you missed the point, which is that he was do much of a genius that his ability to pick up knowledge outside his expertise is not reflective of everyone else's ability to do so.

>>4717315
You are basing your argument off comparing yourself and 99% of everyone else to von Neumann.

In short, you are an idiot.

>>4717315

are you trying to troll? because you are so fucking retarded i doubt you could get a phd in womens studies

>>4717301
Von Neumann was also smart enough to see the value of learning the history.

The thing is, almost anyone can get a PhD in something like history or sociology or womens studies. Not anyone, it takes enough intelligence to be able to memorize things pretty well and enough dedication to actually do so instead of doing fun things like watching TV or going shopping, but most people of average to above-average intelligence are entirely capable of getting one. Because if you spend 5 years reading about a subject and memorizing facts about it, at some point you are going to be able to put together a bunch of those facts in a somewhat comprehensive order and add in a few opinions and implications, insightful or not. And that's pretty much enough for a history PhD.

Whereas, to get a PhD in something like math or science, you have to be really fucking smart. I'm an undergrad studying math, I can get by and even have a 4.0 though that's not going to last much longer. And I know there's no way I can get a PhD in math, because I'm just not smart enough. I'm better at logic puzzles and reading comprehension than a lot of math PhDs, sure, but as far as actually thinking mathematically I just don't have what it takes. I'd like to think I'm smart enough to handle a PhD in physics or biology, but a lot of people who are more than capable of memorizing enough for a history degree simply don't have the critical thinking and reasoning ability to do so.

Dunno what the point of this post is, just sayin.

>>4717337

And also smart enough to realize that it's easily done as a hobby.

>>4717340
>History
>Memorization
You know nothing about history.

>Studying something that you enjoy rather than what makes you six figures
hahahahahahahaha

>>4717340
>I'm an undergrad
>I know what it takes to get a Ph.D in several different fields

Intelligence is important, yes, but you really don't know what you're talking about. Otherwise you would have written a long treatise on the FUCKTON of hard work and ass kissing even the most brilliant of people have to do.

>>4717361

Pretty much this.

Once you need to delve into the deep, dark world of securing grants then you'll understand it outside of this happy little idealistic knowledge boot camp where people will pat you on the head for trying your hardest.

>>4717372
Can you tell us anything about this?
>want to go into academia and do research
>see this
>mfw

>>4717351
I know perfectly well what history is, it's about analyzing known historical information and using it to draw new and original conclusions. The main difference between history and science is, there's no way to prove most theses wrong, and there's no "right" answer. As long as you come up with something that is rationally consistent and adequate evidence to support it, it's perfectly valid. And as long as you aren't a complete idiot, if you spend a lot of time reading about history and memorize a lot of information and letting it rattle around in your brain, sooner or later you are going to come up with something that fits those criteria.

Whereas with math or science, not only does your thesis need to be original, it needs to be empirically falsifiable and objectively proven to be true given current knowledge and assumptions. Which means, basically, that for any given situation, there is only one "right" theory, rather than a whole range of theories that make sense.

>>4717372
I did Math as an undergrad, and so did a few of my best friends. I went on to teach high school, and two of them went on to research-level math. Things like this are why I'm so happy I did what I did instead of pursuing a career in research and academia. Granted, it's in no small part because I love teaching, but I hear all the nightmares about university politics and grant applications and the longterm horrorshow of going for tenure and I'm like "Phew."

They do very interesting research, though, so hey, give and take (one's in PDEs, so I can actually read her papers! :D ).

>>4717383
You're joking, right?

Man history is very important and all but if you major in something like Medieval history shouldn't you have connections BEFORE you blow the money?

>>4717379
Not that guy but my PhD acceptance took a hell of a lot of brown nosing (I'm doing a part time PhD in Software Engineering - I know make fun I only come to /sci/ as an amateur anyway) and calling in a lot of favors. It was my PGR coordinator who finally came to me and said "you've been asking a lot of people to do a PhD have you considered this topic?" and he basically set me up with something after two years of begging to get on. Now that I'm on the work requires a lot of research but also, and possibly more importantly, going to a lot of research seminars, spending hours interviewing high up professionals and quizzing them. All sorts of things. Anyone who thinks a PhD is straightforward because they are doing fairly well at their undergrad is in for a shock.

upper level history students are good friends to have in school, at least those that want to be archivists

no one is better at finding info you need for a project in the most obscure fucking places you would have never thought to look

>>4717387
>implying anything i said was wrong

I'm getting tired of this shit.
Post /sci/ence.

Useless or not as her Ph.D. might be but why did the report mention her Ph.D. if they were going to call her Ms. anyway? She's a Dr. damnit even if it's not a highly regarded field.

>>4717284

We really need some kind of national quota on useless degrees so only the best of the best can get a degree in Art history or whatever. If you want a degree in easy shit we have business, and an actual need for the office monkeys to manage paperwork.

>>4717379

Research is driven by funding ie grants.
Funding is driven by the quality of the results you get and noteworthy publications.
The results you get is driven by your research topic, 60% hard work, and 40% luck
Your research topic is driven by what you can secure funding for.

Science is a huge rat race. Don't let this discourage you though, it's quite a satisfying one if you truly love what discipline you're in.

HURR DURR PHYSICS AND MATH SO GOOD ERRTHING ELSE BAD WE ARE SO INTELLECT LETS NOT TALK ABOUT SCIENCE LETS TALK ABOUT HISTORY LOL XD

>>4717441
>LETS TALK ABOUT HISTORY LOL XD

dont forget to mention qualia, women being idiots, child molesters that put rats underwater in the name of "science", and white supremacy

that is /sci/

>>4717413

I'd really like to see the humanities departments all change so that people majoring in a non-educational humanities major have to prove that they're good at what they do--so in which case, an English major would have to do submit a portfolio just to apply. From there, they would face even further scrutiny, so that way only people with actual talent (and ability to use that talent to support themselves) get accepted

I initially applied to university as an English major, at that point I wanted to be a novelist and thought I could make that work. I eventually figured out that I couldn't, but they didn't ask any questions whatsoever about my writing abilities, so that means they probably wouldn't have given a fuck if I graduated into joblessness since they already got my money. I'm a Math and CS double major now, but I know for a fact that my writing skills are vastly superior to most English majors, and I don't even read and write fiction anymore.

So I would advocate that universities change. But that's probably not going to happen since it's fairly obvious that it costs much less money to support an English department than it is to support Chemistry or Engineering departments. It's actually amusing, since I attend school in Pennsylvania and very recently, a bunch of students here were throwing a fit because the governor, a Republican, decided to cut educational funding--most of the people complaining were liberal arts majors. I don't know why the governor decided to do what he did, but if it's because he's no longer interested in paying for people to accrue debt, then I'm with him because that's all those protesters were going to do

>>4717466
>Most of the people complaining were liberal arts majors, therefore the only people affected were liberal arts majors.

>>4717472

I realize everyone's getting affected, but who has a statistically likely chance of paying back their debt because they got a good, stable job after graduation or further education? A STEM major or an English major?

>>4717359

<---on my sci!?

>Society tells us everybody MUST GO TO COLLEGE

>hordes take out tax money to get Arts and Humanities degrees

Stay dumb, America.

PhD Psychology
93k starting

She should have known better than to pursue a "medieval history" PhD. Even retarded psychologists like me know better than that...

>>4717359
>>4717501
Degrees are a scam.

http://nplusonemag.com/bad-education

>>4717523
whats that comic about

>>4717523
thanks bro. I'll drop out of my Mathematics program just because you showed me the light

Engineering PhD here. A History PhD is very difficult and stressful. Oftentimes they're 6-8 years, and you need to be an excellent writer with original ideas. Now whether it's useful or not...that's another thing.

>>4717582

Its also hard to break through a concrete wall using your forehead, doesnt make it a good idea either

>>4717317
Quoted for fucking truth, anon.

Its amazing how many shitty unread history papers there are out there. no one outside that field will ever read 99% of them. the same could be said for math, but there is always a chance that some strange obscure result from math will end up being important.

>>4717301

How do you discuss every aspect of Byzantine history in one meeting and conclude that the other guy knows more or less about it? I would think it'd take several meetings at the least just to cover Byzantine history.