While cruising through the usual suspects of science news websites this afternoon, I came across this gem at Sciencenews.org: 'Rise of female weaponry driven by poop fights.' That's the title of an article about lady dung beetles with larger, nastier horns having a greater chance of producing viable offspring because they are more likely to win in a fight over the best poo in which to lay their eggs. All I have to say is, wow. Just...wow.
Speaking of cool headlines, I heard a pretty good one while listening to the local community radio station today. The headline said something about Michael J. Fox receiving an honorary doctorate for his work on Parkinson's Disease awareness. So I came back to the office and did a quick internet search. Sure enough, it's true. As it turns out, Fox was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. He'll be receiving the award today during a ceremony in New York. Also, you might recognize the name of the institute that is giving the honorary doctorate to Fox, as it's the organization that awards the Nobel Prize in medicine.
As someone who has worked for several years now towards a PhD degree, I have mixed feelings about the 'honorary doctorate.' I must say that sometimes it really feels like one's celebrity is enough to warrant an honorary degree, despite that person never having done anything to earn it. This sort of award system, in which you give someone something for doing absolutely nothing, really flies in the face of what the doctorate degree is all about. We're talking about the highest level of formal study here, not a hand-out. Not to say that my experience during my doctorate career has been all that grueling, but it hasn't been a cake-walk either. I've had my fair share of late nights, packed days, drastic failures, and breaking points in which I wanted to pull all my hair out and call it quits. But hey, no one said it would be easy. So why should it be easy for someone else who hasn't put in the work? That's all I'm really asking here.
But Michael J. Fox is a different story. He really has put the work in. And he's been doing it a lot longer than I have. I'm willing to go so far as to say that if anyone deserves an honorary doctorate, it's him. I don't necessarily think he's the only one who deserves it, but he's way up there on the list. So I think what I'm saying is that we should all have a drink on this beautiful Friday afternoon and toast to Michael J. Fox's success. He's earned our hearty congratulations, as well as an advanced degree.
So here's to you, Mike. Cheers!
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