myth busters

scene of the propagating myths:
two thirty-something women beside me are complaining about some apparently harebrained guy who doesn't seem to understand something-or-other that (according to the girls) is so obvious! one of their complaints -- accompanied by a tone of utter disbelief -- goes something like this: this guy's working on his ph.d....he's so smart but can't understand that!?

*fanfare* enter The Myth Buster!

i'm not going to get into whether or not this guy "could've" or "should've" known whatever it is they wish he had. (these gals seem pretty hip to the jive, so i'm guessing they're right about the boneheadedness of his behaviour.) instead, i'm interested in busting up two myths:

myth I: a person who's doing or who has a ph.d. is necessarily really smart.
myth II: a ph.d. student or recipient is smart at everything. (more or less.)

bust-up I: if you're doing doctoral work, you're probably not a total moron. (though -- alas! -- some emphasis should be placed on "probably.") and, indeed, many doc students and profs are brilliant! (which, by the by, contributes quite nicely to the fact that their colleagues ritually suffer from the "impostor syndrome.") but, truth be told, it's not mostly about smarts at all. getting a ph.d. depends much more on two other factors: 1) really wanting to get your hands on that degree (for whatever reason -- including getting a job, learning more about topic X, impressing Dad, or dealing with that nagging inferiority complex...dammit!), and 2) figuring out how to actually make that happen: learning how to research and write according to specific standards and otherwise disciplining yourself to work, and to work hard. (insert guilt-ridden comment about blogging instead of thesis-ing.) incidentally, these factors help explain why many people don't finish the ph.d. they started...despite being smarty-pantses.

bust-up II: no one's smart at everything. few people are even smart at lots of things. if you have a ph.d., you're basically just supposed to know one or two things particularly well. in other words, don't expect that prof who really gets rocket science to necessarily also understand how to make a real good grilled-cheese sandwich (oh, wow -- just realized how hungry i am!) or fix a toilet or sew on a button or put together a realistic budget or know about the mating patterns of coyotes or what the relationship between old norse and old english is or who Martha Graham is or how to communicate effectively with Mom or what electrolytes or that scene from When Harry Met Sally are all about.

and now back to my inferiority complex...