Q&A: Professor
Professor
Question
Just as people who don’t really understand all that much even in their own field (supposedly) manage to get into systems like the army or the rabbinate, is that also true in academia?
(Is having the title of professor in chemistry a sign that the person really does know the field well, or is it possible that the system just didn’t filter properly and he was pushed through for no real reason?)
Answer
In the natural sciences and mathematics, usually someone who is a professor does understand his field. At least in the well-known and respected institutions. In bogus fields, of course, the situation is different. But there it’s not that he doesn’t understand—rather, there’s nothing there to understand.
Discussion on Answer
I seem to remember seeing you address this once—what does the Rabbi think about psychology?
See column 405
If there’s nothing to understand, and he indeed doesn’t understand, then he’s fit for the job…