StopSylviaBrowne - I Speak With Sylvia Browne

[Rasmus]

Total tangent; I seem to recall it is basically illegal for anyone to use the term "Dr" in Germany unless they had recieved their PhD from a German University?

ETA: Make that from a German or EU University

Pretty much, yes.

It seems to have changed just earlier this year, but before than your other option would have been to use a different title as awarded by your University (Ph.D. e.g.) or you would have to use something like "Dr. med. Harvard University", i.e. designate your subject and university to make clear you weren't a proper German Ph.D.

I think there may have been (quite expensive, I assume) options to have your degree accreddited individually, too. But I am not sure.

The issue, of course, was never to discriminate against foreign scinetists but agaisnt imposters and "degree mills". Proper scientists risk being targeted too, though. (I would assume especialy so if they are somewhat famous or exposed.)

Case in point: My dad is a doctor physician and once got sued since he was, at the time, not a Ph.D. (His employer issued name tag made that mistake, though. Luckily, the court held that it wasn't my dad's intention or responsibility.) AFAIK the issue here was likely one of an unhappy customer, but the detail elude me.

 

[blobru]

Thanks, blobru!

You have a career awaiting you in the paranormal industry.

blobru inc. ​

Psionic Cryptology & Seer Repair: "Whatever you predicted, we can fix it!"​

Have you been communing with the Corn Gods, blobru?

Now that you mention it...

sylvia = s+y56a = 44Bao+o+66G+e = BatL
browne = 35+8+74+10 = 12-7 = 5 = Acts

therefore, Sylvia Browne = Battle Axe!

the et corn gods have spoken

 

[UncaStuart]

Interestingly enough, I make that mistake about my university. The "University of Stirling" is often called "Stirling University", possibly because it's slightly shorter.

Around these parts (SF Bay Area), I think I hear "USF" 98% of the time, as opposed to "University of San Francisco". So if there were a desire to shorten it, it would be USF. (Down the peninsula, the other Jesuit university, "Santa Clara University," is usually shortened to "Santa Clara," not "SCU," in oral communication. Go figure.)
I can't imagine that anyone who has taken coursework at USF would ever call it San Francisco University. It would be like a Cal graduate saying they got their degree at the "University of Berkeley."

 

[Professor Yaffle]

I got my degree at the University of Glasgow, but I (and everyone I knew there) called it Glasgow University. Most of the universities I worked at I have had to double check which way round they are.

 

[Worm]

Collegiate universitys can come up with interesting naming schemes as well....

Mind you, I got my degree from the Open University, which is definately not the University of Open.

 

[EHocking]

Collegiate universitys can come up with interesting naming schemes as well....

Mind you, I got my degree from the Open University, which is definately not the University of Open.

I briefly took a course at the Northern Territory University in Australia. I has changed it's name over its history and is currently known as Charles Darwin University.

Before it became NTU it joined with University College of the Northern Territory.

The story goes that they were very careful about not naming it the College University...

 

[arthwollipot]

Additional information for those unfamilar with Australian geography - the capital of the Northern Territory is called Darwin.

 

[EHocking]

Additional information for those unfamilar with Australian geography - the capital of the Northern Territory is called Darwin.

As the town was named after the Charles Darwin, by the captain of the HMS Beagle's 3rd voyage, John Clements Wickham, who was a lieutenant on the ship on it's 2nd voyage when Darwin was on board, it'd be fairly safe to say that that is also the origin of the University's new moniker, even though Darwin never visited the north coast of the continent.

 

[ObscureReferenceMan]

Awesome article, Robert!

Thanks also to Susan and Claus and Kochanski.