The 'Woman' point of view

[robhooley167]

Really? Is this a British thing, because I've never come across it. My daughter has a PhD (science), I've met a lot of her colleagues, who are mainly at doctorate or masters level, and most of her friends are graduates. Generally speaking, they're bright, funny, articulate and very normal people, and good to have around. I can't think of a single "know all" amongst them.

I have to agree, I can't say I know a singe PhD "knowitall", in fact, they tend to be acutely more conservative with what they actually know. See the Dunning Kruger effect.

 

[Steve]

The short version is 'because he can' - the slightly longer version is that having left school with b****r all in the way of useful qualifications , he felt he was looked down on by various people he interacted with in his business life (he runs a house renovation business) e.g bank managers, loan officers, accountants, planning officers and such , and gaining a masters in busisness administration from the London school of economics was his way of redressing this , with the side effect that he learnt all the jargon so he no longer sounds like a poor boy made good.

I'm doing mine (Extramurally) to enhance my career - I'm currently a head of department but aspire to be a general manager and eventually an assistant director of operations - MBA is a good way to help fast track that promotion

Thanks for the reply Pete; good luck with your MBA

 

[Lindsay D]

Really? Is this a British thing, because I've never come across it. My daughter has a PhD (science), I've met a lot of her colleagues, who are mainly at doctorate or masters level, and most of her friends are graduates. Generally speaking, they're bright, funny, articulate and very normal people, and good to have around. I can't think of a single "know all" amongst them.

I've met both types, but I can just as easily apply that to any field of endeavour where one can achieve excellence. There will be people who will be modest in their achievements and others who might be arrogant and boorish, because they will always have a point to prove and an ego to display. I know many high achievers who are the least high-handed people you could ever meet, and I've known some who (since achieving their doctorate/awards/status) have treated the rest of the world as second-class citizens. Perhaps it has something to do with the route by which they achieved their qualifications, or their background, I don't know.

 

[big soft moose]

I certainly didn't mean everyone - after all both my parents, my sister and her husband have doctorates and they aren't like that (My father is a weapons grade arse hole but that's not related to his doctorate). However particularly in academia (rather than those who work in other fields having achieved their doctorate) you do periodically get a Dr who thinks his or her PHd gives them a far reaching insight , not substantiated by their intellect and ability. I think this is partly because they spend a lot of time as the 'most intelligent person in the room" when lecturing to under grads , and think this carries over into real life.

An absolute classic case was the Doctor (of art History) who's complaint I dealt with while working in oxford , who wanted to know why we had not pumped the flood waters off Christchurch meadow into the storm drains which would apparently have been both "easy and simple" , and he was "surprised it took someone of higher intellect to point is out"

Two rather major flaws in this plan were a) that the river Thames in spate delivers water far faster than it could be pumped away , and b) that the storm drains empty into the river anyway. - when this was pointed out he said " dear boy , in that case it would be a simple matter to use the sewers instead ! " - yeah , erm...okay if you say so :bang:

Having had the misfortune to deal with a number of similar individuals , I can confidently say that he is not an isolated case (though of course nor are these individuals the absolute norm) - nor is this a soley British thing - I have a friend who works in Cambridge, Mass , and she reports a similar level of Bellendery associated with some professors at Harvard, Tufts, Taft , BC and so on

 

[simonblue]

I've met both types, but I can just as easily apply that to any field of endeavour where one can achieve excellence. There will be people who will be modest in their achievements and others who might be arrogant and boorish, because they will always have a point to prove and an ego to display. I know many high achievers who are the least high-handed people you could ever meet, and I've known some who (since achieving their doctorate/awards/status) have treated the rest of the world as second-class citizens. Perhaps it has something to do with the route by which they achieved their qualifications, or their background, I don't know.

Or just human nature,i find their are pain in the asses from all walk of life,and from all social backgrounds

 

[Lindsay D]

I certainly didn't mean everyone - after all both my parents, my sister and her husband have doctorates and they aren't like that (My father is a weapons grade arse hole but that's not related to his doctorate). However particularly in academia (rather than those who work in other fields having achieved their doctorate) you do periodically get a Dr who thinks his or her PHd gives them a far reaching insight , not substantiated by their intellect and ability. I think this is partly because they spend a lot of time as the 'most intelligent person in the room" when lecturing to under grads , and think this carries over into real life.

An absolute classic case was the Doctor (of art History) who's complaint I dealt with while working in oxford , who wanted to know why we had not pumped the flood waters off Christchurch meadow into the storm drains which would apparently have been both "easy and simple" , and he was "surprised it took someone of higher intellect to point is out"

Having had the misfortune to deal with a number of similar individuals , I can confidently say that he is not an isolated case (though of course nor are these individuals the absolute norm) - nor is this a soley British thing - I have a friend who works in Cambridge, Mass , and she reports a similar level of Bellendery associated with some professors at Harvard, Tufts, Taft , BC and so on

Oh yes, I have met some rather bossy teachers and some very inflexible lawyers whose egos precede them wherever they go (I stress 'some' with most being as normal and nice as you can get). Do I know just as many bossy hairdressers, plumbers, IT experts .... I would have to say no. It could also be argued that in some professions the profession becomes the persona, rather than vice versa. Politicians could probably also be an example - I imagine it's hard to switch off the "spin". In fact I think many people, if placed in what they or others perceive to be a position of power or influence, could arguably misuse their status at times, or take advantage of it in some way.

I wonder how the bloke you mention got his doctorate - he doesn't sound particularly bright. That does of course raise the question of 'solving' skills vs acquired academic knowledge. If one were to consider subjects where something had to be solved rather than opined or presented subjectively, then I think we may very well see different behaviours.

I can also argue that I have witnessed arrogance in some realms of the photography world (but once again, a minority), which I would tie in with my previous sentence.

 

[MartynK]

I suppose you get people like this in all walks of life, but their attitudes are generally determined by their personality, rather than higher education. Some of the most arrogant and outspoken people I've come across rely on loud, overbearing, behaviour to compensate for their abysmal ignorance; and these are often the same individuals who are quick to claim that highly educated people lack common sense and practical skills which they, of course, possess in abundance. My own experience has been rather the opposite.

Lindsay, I saw your comment about problem solving skills and academic achievement, and I - sort of - agree, but I think it probably depends on the field. I do know that problem solving - and lateral thinking - is normally a major component of higher degrees in science.

 

[droj]

How this stimulating thread alternates between tedium and insight! Fascinating.

 

[Blank_Canvas]

The short version is 'because he can' - the slightly longer version is that having left school with b****r all in the way of useful qualifications , he felt he was looked down on by various people he interacted with in his business life (he runs a house renovation business) e.g bank managers, loan officers, accountants, planning officers and such , and gaining a masters in busisness administration from the London school of economics was his way of redressing this , with the side effect that he learnt all the jargon so he no longer sounds like a poor boy made good.

I'm doing mine (Extramurally) to enhance my career - I'm currently a head of department but aspire to be a general manager and eventually an assistant director of operations - MBA is a good way to help fast track that promotion

Good luck with your MBA, I did mine a few years ago at the University of Derby part time. Hard graft but it was worth it in the end.

 

[inkiboo]

I'll second that. Finished my EMBA at Cass Business School last September and you quickly learn a lot of the course is about time management.