Story about homeless Ph.D.

Looks like he wasn't prepared for sudden loss of income, and then you don't need much to go over the deep end.

And like many people here say (including myself), once you drop out of the corporate thing it is very hard to go back. Especially past 45 or so.

Also have a little nagging thing in my back mind "it might be me" (I have a Phd, without any patents ..), although living in a socialist country (Netherlands) it most likely won't be anything near that bad as he had it.
 
Appears to me to just be another case of mental illness.
 
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That's a better outcome than so many of these stories. Wonderful that the neighbors decided to actually help him out rather than run him off.
Thanks for sharing it.
 
I do not feel sorry for this guy at all.

He wasn't going to work for less than $115K a year, so he skipped work. When you are unemployed, you need to "keep the ball in the air" to keep current.

He probably did have some disability, but remember, laziness is NOT a disability.
 
Many of the homeless in SF have obvious signs of mental / physical illness. I think the housing first programs have the right idea. Once homeless, people cannot eat healthy, shower or keep warm at night. That has to put their mental and physical health in a continuing downward spiral.
 
manerac said:
"Laziness" is to "mental illness" as "obesity" is to "health problem", and they have the same cure.
Click to expand...

you're kidding right? obviously you haven't known anyone who is mentally ill

:mad:


it's not a character flaw that you just "snap out of"


being fat, maybe, but not mentally ill
 
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It did not sound like he tried to do anything to help himself, even though he knew that the outcome would be bad. To me that sounds like depression. I am so glad that his neighbors did band together to help him. If they had not done so, this story would have probably went way downhill for him. It sounded like he had sunk down too low to be able to help himself. Kudos to his neighbors!
 
I have worked with PhDs that were, shall we say, lacking in the social graces. Seems to be that way with some exceptionally gifted people that in the right situation can contribute immensely to society.
 
Half my graduating class went on to get their PhDs. About half of them were capable of operating normally in society. The other half seemed to get progressively isolated. At our 25th reunion, only some of the non-PhD half showed up (not surprising).
 
manerac said:
"Laziness" is to "mental illness" as "obesity" is to "health problem", and they have the same cure.
Click to expand...

Could you please elaborate on the cure, as I may have use for it one day.
Thank you.
 
Hermit said:
I have worked with PhDs that were, shall we say, lacking in the social graces. Seems to be that way with some exceptionally gifted people that in the right situation can contribute immensely to society.
Click to expand...

+1

I have worked with a dozen or so.

Funny story about one senior seismologist. A new director of Lamont Geological Observatory arrived, at a social reception the seismologist could not remember his girlfriend of 15 year's name, stumbling, he introduced her as The Woman. The director, India born wihout missing a beat said, Glad to meet you, Woman. And swiftly moved on.
 
ls99 said:
Funny story about one senior seismologist. A new director of Lamont Geological Observatory arrived, at a social reception the seismologist could not remember his girlfriend of 15 year's name, stumbling, he introduced her as The Woman. The director, India born wihout missing a beat said, Glad to meet you, Woman. And swiftly moved on.
Click to expand...

If GF had any self respect, I'm sure they didn't make it to year 16.
 
Meadbh said:
If GF had any self respect, I'm sure they didn't make it to year 16.
Click to expand...
Actually they got married a year later. Go Figure.;)
 
ls99 said:
Actually they got married a year later. Go Figure.;)
Click to expand...
He solved his problem. Thenceforth he could introduce her as "Mrs. Seismologist."As long as the dude can remember his surname, no more embarrassment for either of them.

Ha
 
On and off I w*rked with this fellow for over 10 years. Never did figure out who had who by the short hairs. But then again it was very low priority. There were far too numerous amusing things to observe. There were over fifty Phds of various stripes and things they professed to, and way too many grad students and post grads by the truckload. Funny stuff happend many times a day.

One time in the cafeteria at long table the discussion was about woodstove efficiency. I bragged about my Jotul stove I had then, saying it will burn anything with energy in it.

A recent smart ass Phd intoned: quarks have energy. I instantly replied: give me one, I''ll burn it. For those not up to speed on particle physics:
From Wikipedia
Due to a phenomenon known as color confinement, quarks are never directly observed or found in isolation; they can be found only within hadrons, such as baryons (of which protons and neutrons are examples), and mesons.[2][3]

A long round of laughter ensued. The loudest were the Physicists.
 
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ls99 said:
+1

I have worked with a dozen or so.

Funny story about one senior seismologist. A new director of Lamont Geological Observatory arrived, at a social reception the seismologist could not remember his girlfriend of 15 year's name, stumbling, he introduced her as The Woman. .
Click to expand...

Slightly off topic but funny. My grandparents were married 53 years. Around year 51, they were watching TV and someone was on who had blue eyes.

Grampy said "I can't stand people with blue eyes!"
Grammy said: "I have blued eyes!!"
"You do?! Let me see...."
 
haha said:
He solved his problem. Thenceforth he could introduce her as "Mrs. Seismologist."As long as the dude can remember his surname, no more embarrassment for either of them.

Ha
Click to expand...

Not if they lived in Quebec.
 
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