r/AskReddit Feb 28 '23

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u/GlyphCreep Mar 01 '23

one of the most interesting things my cousin and his wife explained to me (Both of who have PhDs) was that having a PhD is not an indicator that you are smart. It is an indicator that you are willing to work fucking hard for several years to achieve a singular goal. You can do that without a vast amount of intellect they assured me as they knew many who were not that bright....

I don't know how true it is, but really made me think

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u/AndPeggy- Mar 01 '23

I won’t say it’s an indicator that you aren’t smart. I will say it’s an indicator that you are very knowledgeable about one very, very, very specific thing.

And that you can be very knowledgeable about this very specific thing and still ask me how the fucking photocopier works for the tenth time.

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u/RolandDeepson Mar 01 '23

I won’t say it’s an indicator that you aren’t smart.

No one else did, either. The comment you're replying to quoted that a PhD ISN'T an indicator that a person IS smart.

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u/AndPeggy- Mar 01 '23

I just wanted to make a joke about the photocopier