getting 5 phd's

ScrapStuff · 07-01-2012, 11:54 PM

if someone had 5 phd's would that make them like super smart, like one of the smartest people in the world........

i know it would be a big waste of time, and money... but theoretically say i got my bachelor's, my masters, and i got a ph'd... and then i decided to go for more phd's in a wide range of subject.... just to learn knew knowledge

how many years would it take to obtain 5 phd's...

would it be even possible for someone to do it...

do you think YOU, if you took the time to study, had the money, could YOU personally get 5 phd's if you wanted to

ScrapStuff · 07-01-2012, 11:56 PM

why would someone get 5 phd's in the first place

- ego
-wants to appear "intelligent"
etc. etc.

jayeyesee · 07-02-2012, 12:21 AM

Adcoms wouldn't let it happen. Probably not possible.

polarscribe · 07-02-2012, 12:54 AM

Nor is there any point to it. Having a Ph.D doesn't make you "smart." It means you have the skills to conduct research as an independent scholar.

ScrapStuff · 07-02-2012, 01:20 AM

http://guanin.org/files/Abdul%20Karim%20Bangura.html

Abdul Karim Bangura

he has 5 phd's

polarscribe · 07-02-2012, 01:28 AM

Two of them appear to be from a diploma mill.

There is little to no point in getting multiple Ph.Ds unless you just like collecting degrees. If that's how you want to spend your time and money, more power to you.

ScrapStuff · 07-02-2012, 01:30 AM

what does that mean........? diploma mill

also why would someone like him, or anyone else for that matter get 5 phd's in the first place... just for the fun of it........ ?

virions · 07-02-2012, 01:50 AM

You've also got a thread for multiple masters I see.

There is no point to this besides degree collecting which, at the moment, seems to be a topic of fascination to you. Yes, you can find a rare example of someone with 5 PhDs, but you can find the rare example of just about anything if you search enough. Someone from the 'Guinness book' takes pride in having the longest fingernails in the world as well. Those fingernails are about as useful as PhDs 2-5.

Diploma mill means not an accredited college or university. Degrees by mail order essentially.

vienneselights · 07-02-2012, 06:53 AM

My bf's mother's getting her second phd in film studies. Except she automatically got her first phd in English because she went to Oxford.

But yeah. If a grad student were smart, he wouldn't need more school.

juillet · 07-04-2012, 11:57 AM

1. No, it actually makes you pretty dumb. Getting a PhD is a marker that you know how to do independent research and learn on your own - you don't need another one unless it's in a very different field. It doesn't make you appear "smart," even to people who don't have PhDs.

2. Theoretically speaking, it would take you at least 25 years to earn 5 PhDs. It would probably take longer than that, as some PhDs take longer than 5 years to complete - so let's say that one takes 8 years, one takes 5 years, and the other 3 take 6 years - that's 30 years.

But realistically speaking, after you have the first one you probably won't get into a second PhD program, and even if by some miracle you did manage to get two PhDs, *nobody* would let you get into a third program. Bangura is an exception, and like someone else said, it looks like his last two PhDs are from diploma mills (which is basically a place where you pay for a piece of paper that says you have a PhD).

photonxyz · 07-04-2012, 09:44 PM

Here is a story about a guy who earned 29 degrees.

Michael Nicholson, Kalamazoo, Mich., Resident, Has 29 Advanced Degrees And Counting (VIDEO)

It would be a waste to earn 5 PhDs.... You would not retain most of the advanced knowledge learned if you didn't continually practice what you learned.

Think about it... Lets say a person earns a doctor of pharmacology.... then a doctor of medicine, then a doctorate in engineering, then a doctorate in humanities and then a doctorate in foreign languages. Additionally, lets say it took you 15 or 20 years to complete these programs. Would you want this person performing surgery on you OR would you rather someone who earned the doctor in medicine and has been practicing his learned knowledge for the past 15 years.... I'm sure the person earned five doctorates, they would be interesting to speak with at a party. However, I would NOT want them operating on me!