Skip to main content

star trek - Does Spock have a PhD?


I often hear among people who are only vaguely familiar with Star Trek referring to the character of Spock as 'Dr Spock', getting confused with the author of the book about children. It got me to thinking though: Spock is a pretty clever guy and it wouldn't surprise me if he had a PhD. My question: Does Spock actually have a PhD? If so, what is it in?




Answer



Probably not.


He's never referred to as Dr Spock, or as having a PhD, in any of the Star Trek series (source: the second of the two links below). So there's nothing to say he did have a PhD, but also no canon confirmation that he didn't.


You can find fan discussions of the issue here and here. From the first of these links, here are some arguments for Spock not having a PhD:



We know that Vulcans are not above calling themselves Doctor.


We also know that Spock rejected an offer to attend the Vulcan Science Academy in order to attend Starfleet Academy. I suppose he could've earned a Ph.D. at Starfleet, since he did do at least a little bit of postgraduate work, but most evidence is pointing toward no.


Look, we know Spock is a really smart guy, but that's no excuse for being underqualified. Without a doctorate you're probably not going to get a lot of papers published, so where are you contributing to the scientific community? At the very least Spock made it much harder on himself to gain any credibility for his findings among other scientists.



And:




While you need a large breadth of knowledge in your field to obtain a Ph.D, you also spend a significant portion (2-8 years) of the time working towards it by writing your doctoral thesis, which is incredibly specialized.


Much of what the Enterprise deals with is new phenomena (as well as new lifeforms, new chemicals, new plants, etc). In these cases, a specialist may be of less value than someone with a lot of general knowledge.


In addition, specialists would probably be assigned to ships and locations that would make use of their specialization. Write a thesis on a new theory for warp design and Starfleet would probably have you work in warp design. Write a thesis on an aspect of plant biology, work on in a research station, etc.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?

I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")? Answer In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says: Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about? "Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed....
Post a Comment
Read more

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...
Post a Comment
Read more