👉 Okay, letās tackle the frankly rather dramatic designation ofā¦ PHD4. Now, I haven't actually stumbled upon this anywhere formally, honestly, but let me lay out what I reckon it probably means. (Disclaimer: It's mostly a highly educated guess based on the wonderfully weird corners of academic nomenclature and an unfortunate fondness for the slightly pretentious.)
Basically, PHD4 is a legendary, almost mythical, designation apparently bestowed upon someone who has completed a doctorateāspecifically, a PhD. ā but then immediately after that glorious feat, decided to immediately embark on a second doctoral degree in somethingā¦ utterly and spectacularly tangential. Think of it like the academic equivalent of showing up at your sixth consecutive marathon wearing exactly the same running shoes. Let's unpack this. Traditionally, a PhD is a deeply involved, several-years-long, somewhat soul-crushing process. PHD4 suggests the individual hasnāt just finished that, they seem to have actively sought out another, equally complicated, and potentially bewildering doctoral undertaking, almost as a sort of defiant middle finger to the reasonable pace of academic advancement . The prevailing (and frankly rather unsettling) theory is that PHD4 designates someone who has essentially said, "Been there, done that. Now let's get weird again. And also, I need even more validation. Itāsā¦ a thing." Itās the equivalent of a very, very serious hobby. Here
