You didn’t want a Ph.D.?
No, I hate the Ph.D. I think it destroys people’s lives. I had actually
three tragedies which I witnessed with people who came to work with me and
came to grief. One of them committed suicide and two ended up in mental
institutions. I blame the Ph.D. system for that. I think it really was a
disaster for many people.
Why? Because the Ph.D. system grinds people down?
Yes, and it’s completely inappropriate for what most people need. It was
designed for German academics in the 19th century and it was fine for that.
But for any other kind of life, it’s totally wrong. It takes far too long.
It forces you to pretend to be a researcher when most people don’t want to
be researchers. It’s become a union card and I think it’s highly
disruptive, particularly bad for women. For women to waste five or 10 years
of their lives is more of a disaster than it is for men.
这是 Freeman Dyson 的原话
https://nautil.us/my-life-with-the-physics-dream-team-236264/