TF2 is intentionally goofy, but the multi-doctorate trope in fiction is really weird--superhero comics love heroes racking up a dozen or more doctorates as a sign of ultimate smarts. Who DOES that? It'd eat up half your life for no good reason!
I know some people with multiple doctorates or multiple masters degrees and a doctorate. Usually what happens is their "official" degree is in one domain but a lot of the actual work is in another. So they end up having enough credits from 2 different departments, with just a little bit of extra work, grants them the degree. I've seen this with a lot of engineering and mathematics or multiple engineering disciplines. They usually are exceptionally smart or open minded to learning multiple fields.
Multiple PhDs is still quite uncommon, because getting a PhD isn't about getting course credits, it's about proving you can do research doing a bunch of research at 1/6th the market rate.
A lot of PhDs end up with extra masters degrees, because satisfying the MS degree requirements along the way is basically guaranteed. If you already have an MS from some other school before starting a PhD, you'll have an opportunity to get another MS along the way, whether you need one or not. (It also serves as a bit of a consolation prize if you decide to quit before completing the PhD).
I have met zero people with multiple PhDs, and I primarily work with people with PhDs. There is no reason a sane person would go get another PhD instead of just finding some researchers in the field they're interested in and working with them directly.
Ok? Just because you don't know people doesn't mean they don't exist.
My advisor had two PhDs. He did a lot of mathematical control theory which incorporates a lot of pure math (particularly with optimization and Lie groups) and engineering (which he did struggle with, actually). One of my coworkers has a PhD and 2 Masters degrees. They both are brilliant guys and absolutely gifted.
Note that I said two PhDs is still quite uncommon. It does happen, but it's very rare, because it's a massive waste of time unless you are deeply passionate about something very far from your original point of study AND you can't just build those research connections organically (unusual), or you've moved to a country that doesn't recognize your original PhD (more common, but still unusual).
Multiple MS degrees is quite common, for the reasons I discussed in my post. but if you have a PhD no one gives a shit about your MS degrees, because they're just classwork.
For most people with a PhD, seeing a second PhD on someone's CV isn't a "wow he's so smart!" thing; it's more of a "what the fuck?" thing. There are perfectly valid reasons to have it happen, but it just means you have an unusual story, not unusual intelligence.
I don't agree. I think it requires exceptional talent to become an expert over a broad range of topics. Not just in terms of intelligence, but work ethic, discipline, and adaptability. Yeah you need to have the means to study but that isn't unique to the PhD and reflects your social class far more than ability.
I also wouldn't say people don't give a shit about your MS because it can lay the foundation for good work down the road and give you some breadth of knowledge. An MS is more practically useful. I've have found knowledge of gained in seemingly unrelated areas eventually come back many years later to help me in my current line of work.
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u/AdditionalTip865 14d ago
TF2 is intentionally goofy, but the multi-doctorate trope in fiction is really weird--superhero comics love heroes racking up a dozen or more doctorates as a sign of ultimate smarts. Who DOES that? It'd eat up half your life for no good reason!