[Taxacom] Honorifics for M.A.s

Mon Mar 6 06:32:51 CST 2017

Personally I do not like titles. I have worked in several professions that
use them (military, medicine, science) and have never seen any link between
the title in question and the deservability of the person using it. I mean
no disrespect by that. I do not ever use titles and never want them used on
me, I only ever talk to people by their names, I expect no more in return.
In a formal setting I will introduce someone as appropriate, but its about
the only time, in the same setting I personally expect to be introduced by
may name only. People should be seen by what they have achieved, not by the
paper hanging on the wall.

Cheers, Scott

On Sun, Mar 5, 2017 at 6:19 PM, Peter Rauch <peterar at berkeley.edu> wrote:

> Let's not confuse honorifics with titles earned in recognition of
> completing specific courses of study.
>
> There's no harm done --when introducing a personality to an audience-- in
> relating to the audience some of the accomplishments, achievements, and
> other contextual matter about the speaker, to refer to their formal, earned
> educational degree. Shorthand communications, such as "...whose PhD was
> earned in XYZ...", is sometimes a sufficient indication for certain
> purposes.
>
> The original poster wondered out loud whether there is a need for and an
> appropriate way to recognize (in shorthand) certain accomplishments of,
> when introducing, speakers who may not have formally earned a particular
> title or other epithet.
>
> That said, "magister" --perhaps simply due to the unfamiliarity of that
> term in the context questioned-- seems awkward, or pompous, or
> insufficiently descriptive, and I would also prefer to, "...simply say,
>  "I would like to introduce John Doe, whose lecture is entitled, ....""
>
> Peter
>
> On Sun, Mar 5, 2017 at 12:56 PM, Dan Bickel <Dan.Bickel at austmus.gov.au>
> wrote:
>
> > Why do we we need honorifics anyway?  They merely serve as masks for
> > people to hide behind.
> > I have met plenty of people with PhDs who are idiots and fools -
> > university campuses are full of them.
> >
> > Almost any one with half a brain can grind a way and get a PhD - big
> > deal!  Don't let this serve as a cover for the real person. There is an
> old
> > saying, "The bigger the front, the bigger the behind".
> >
> > Did Socrates have a B.A. in philosophy,  Galileo a M.S. in physics or
> > Leonardo da Vinci a M.A. in Fine Arts? And what about Charles Darwin ?
> > So Freeman Dyson didn't have a Ph.D. - so what?  Einstein worked as a
> > patents clerk in Bern while he was developing his theory of special
> > relativity.
> >
> > To introduce a speaker at a lecture, simply say,   "I would like to
> > introduce John Doe, whose lecture is entitled,  'On the superficiality of
> > academic  titles and honorifics'
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Daniel J. Bickel
> > Entomology, Australian Museum,  1 William Street Sydney NSW 2010
> Australia
> > T 61 2 9320 6347   F 61 2 9320 6011
> >
> > ____________________________________________
> > On Sun, 5/3/17, Richard Zander <Richard.Zander at mobot.org<mailto:
> > Richard.Zander at mobot.org>> wrote:
> >
> > Subject: [Taxacom] Honorifics for M.A.s
> > To: "Taxacom(taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu<mailto:taxacom at mailman.
> nhm.ku.edu>}"
> > <taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu<mailto:taxacom at mailman.nhm.ku.edu>>
> > Received: Sunday, 5 March, 2017, 9:43 AM
> >
> >  I remember going to a lecture by Freeman Dyson and the guy
> whointroduced
> > him went on and on about him not having a  Ph.D. but he was AOK anyway.
> > Embarrassing. There are  several highly productive researchers here who
> > only have  M.A. degrees, and Mr. or Ms. seems pedestrian. I recommend
> that
> > a term be devised and used as an honorific for such  people. I suggest
> the
> > term "Magister." Kind of high-falutin  but apparently cognate with a
> > "Masters" degree, see  Wikipedia.
> >
> >  -------
> > Richard H. Zander
> > Missouri Botanical Garden - 4344 Shaw Blvd. - St. Louis -  Missouri -
> > 63110 - USA  richard.zander at mobot.org<mailto:richard.zander at mobot.org
> > <mailto:richard.zander at mobot.org%3cmailto:richard.zander at mobot.org>>
> > Web sites: http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/bfna/bfnamenu.htm and
> > http://www.mobot.org/plantscience/resbot/
> >  _______________________________________________
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> >         Click here to read the Australian Museum email disclaimer:  The
> > Australian Museum email disclaimer:
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Nurturing Nuance while Assaulting Ambiguity for 30 Years, 1987-2017.
> >
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> Nurturing Nuance while Assaulting Ambiguity for 30 Years, 1987-2017.
>

-- 
Scott Thomson
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