Doctor

He’s a doctor. He must be very smart.

Judging people for what they are.

Does not mean to put down all doctors. Some are smart. Some aren’t. But just because a person is a doctor doesn’t mean that they automatically get respect and ditto a professor.

Jewish Mother – my son the doctor

People have a strange and sometimes unjustified way of evaluating each other. On the one hand, many people like to put others down in order to boost their own status in society. By supposedly lowering the status of another person their own status is elevated in comparison. Of course, this does not necessarily work and it backfires more often than not. In other words, by putting somebody else down people generally demonstrated their own foolishness, incompetence or in ability to cope. In many cases many people come to understand this or at least they are told this by others. Society in general does recognize and realize putting people down is a negative means of behavior. People do not necessarily stop doing it as a result but at least there are those who will tell them that they are doing something wrong in many cases.

However, does the reverse hold true? When we see somebody who presents credentials to demonstrate their intelligence how do we relate to this fact?

The answer is quite interesting. Usually we automatically accept a person’s credentials for intelligence. If he says he’s a member of Mensa then there are many people automatically assume that he is very intelligent. After all, other people have given him the label of being intelligent. The same with a doctor or a professor, whose title labels them as being intelligent. This is often very strange. What about that absent-minded professor? Is he intelligent? Most people will say that he is intelligent despite the fact that he is absent-minded. His absent-mindedness is a result of his concentration on his own field or his own directed intelligence which blocks out other aspects of his life. They will possibly give other excuses for it, but it would be rare for them to say that the absent-mindedness is because of a lack of intelligence. He would always seem to get credit for this.

If two people write articles one with the title of Doctor or Professor and the other without or if two people appear on a panel or if two people are questioned relating to their opinion, one of whom sports a title and the other doesn’t, all too often people will automatically assume that the person with the title of Doctor or Professor is actually right.

In other words we have moved from an automatic assumption which is sometimes misguided or incorrect of intelligence to the assumption that if the person is intelligent, then he must be correct in his point of view. For this reason we sometimes see political statements which are backed by people with titles represent intelligence which supposedly represent intelligence and people seem to tend to believe these people because of believe these people’s point of view because of their intelligence.

But that is only a point of view. It is not an issue which necessarily requires intelligence. It may be based on intelligence but it is not an issue of intelligence per se. Why give that more credence than another point of view from another individual who does not sport that title?

The fact is that a doctorate or other degrees do not necessarily represent intelligence. There are many people who are intelligent who have chosen not to follow an academic path but who demonstrate their intelligence and their life experiences and they are able to use their life experiences in many ways which far exceed that of certain doctors or professors. However, certain people will not appreciate this and they will believe that they are less intelligent because they do not sport those degrees.

Over the course of my experience in my work, my academic career, I have come in contact with many intelligent people as well as many doctors and professors. Now I want to be very careful about the way I present the next point. I don't want to give the impression that I am putting down doctors or that they are less intelligent than others. However, nor do I want to generalize in any way in my statement that I am about to present. However, I do want to present a point of view which is not as popular as others in many circles.

I have found that there are many people who do not have these fine degrees who are intelligent as stated in the previous part of this article.

But more importantly, I have found that those people who do have titles but who choose not to use them, the fellow who says, “Call me Sam” although he could request that I call him Dr. Klein is not only professing his modesty which in itself is an advantage when dealing with doctors, but it is more it is often a way in which he does not necessarily need to show that he is a doctor in order to be believable or in order to demonstrate that he is intelligent. He is letting his statements, his concepts, his ideas, his thoughtful words speak for themselves rather than his title. In many cases these people put aside their title so that they can allow themselves to think a little bit better and more openly.

Of course, this concept of Call me Bob what happened to Sam? has an additional effect of reducing the artificial distance which doctors sometimes place between themselves and the hoi polloi. They try to demonstrate that they are equal to them. This is because they don't want to use their title as a means of demonstrating intelligence.

Those who are reading this article undoubtedly also have an email account and have had the questionable pleasure of receiving junk mail regularly from institutions which offer higher degrees for pay. Why do people want to have these higher degrees? So they can teach certain courses in Michlalah. What does it offer them? The answer is very simple. They want to demonstrate that they are intelligent. It is unlikely that any reputable institutions which requires a doctorate as a prerequisite would accept the degree from such institutions. The University of Hungary is not so aye-yay-yay, but Michlalah accepts the degree from there. They are therefore not doing it for their professional advancement. They are doing it so they can sport the title and demonstrate their intelligence. But why do they have to tell the people I’m intelligent! I’m intelligent! Why can’t people judge for themselves? Apparently these people feel less secure about their own intelligence and they need the title of doctor in order to prove it.

If people in midlife chose to buy one or more degrees in order demonstrate or prove their questionable intelligence then is there any possibility that younger people might do the same? Of course! Those who are younger or who have completed their high school degrees and are now looking for their next chapter in life, may often get degrees for special reasons. They may get those degrees in order to achieve professional advancement and this is to be to their credit. If they are going to require it in order to advance. There are others however, who feel less secure about their own intelligence. Just as those who buy degrees in midlife and they therefore complete the requirements for higher degrees in order to be able to demonstrate to others that they are indeed intelligent.

This is therefore a reflection of their lack of security rather than their intelligence. Again, I do not want to generalize in this matter. After all, there are many people who get higher degrees for justified reasons, but I do want to point out that there are others who buy the degree when they are at various stages of their lives in order to prove alternative points of view.

How about the clergy? Is it justified when a rabbi also says, “Hi, Call me Dave”?

Not necessarily. This might be a reflection of his own lack of respect for the title or for the position. The rabbinate is different or the divinity is different. The rabbinate is a title of respect and the title of rabbi is respect and used properly is a respect for what the person represents – not his own intelligence, not his own schooling, not his own knowledge, not his own ideas or feelings, not his own ideas. Indeed a properly trained rabbi would never reflect any of these. They are a representation of his The title says that he represents a study of divine law and that his statements represent not his own opinions but rather divinity and a glorious tradition from people other than himself. And, oh yes, it may also represent his own interpretation of this tradition – an interpretation which may be presented only if it indeed does follow the belief in the other traditions and fits in the larger tradition. In other words, a respect for that title respect for divinity and tradition when asked for the title itself.

It is thus clear that there are several different reasons for that may be attached to a honorary title.

Or it may be a job requirement for a person’s true direction in life.

It may be a reflection of the person’s insecurity.

It may be a reflection of a person’s need to prove his intelligence, in which case there is a question or doubt about what does indeed stand behind that degree.

It may reflect a certain authority such as the clergy in which case again the issue is not intelligence although intelligence may indeed be required in order to succeed in the position.

It may be a need to dominate over others who do not have this degree and it would therefore be an artificial way of demonstrating superiority. And of course it may be many other issues as well. Notice that intelligence is lost in many of these requirements for a higher degree and that it does not necessarily require intelligence or reflect intelligence nor is the degree necessarily granted to those who demonstrate superior intelligence in their field or in any field whatsoever. Thus, when the very next time “Oooh, he’s a doctor” perhaps we should realize what if anything stands behind this degree and question whether our feelings should be based upon the person or on his degree. Just as ad hominem arguments against a person having no basis should be avoided, the opposite should also be the case. One should not necessarily give higher status to a person just because of the person’s degr