Psychopath Professors

Startled by the headline? Let’s explain. Here’s briefly what psychopathy is

…reduced ability to empathize with others, including their victims

Are graduate students victims? They tend to take their own life a lot according to one research here.

…the analyses revealed that students 25 and over have a significantly higher risk than younger students

These students tend to be PhD/M.Sc students. Of course, more statistical analysis is possible. But the main message is clear: PhD students suffer. From? .. most likely culprit is the supervisor (professor).

Other (too many) “anecdotal” stories are abound.

Too often, some students fear, suicides get written off as tragic flukes, but that sort of thinking is flawed, they say. For every Ph.D candidate who kills himself, there are hundreds who become clinically depressed, drop out, or grimly endure bad situations in silence because of poor relationships with their advisers.

The parade of broken PhD students should come to an end. No one is infinitely smart to have the hindsight only achievable by experience. Academically smart PhD students are no exception.

Half of PhD students bust their careers and get demoralized to persue anything. Other half manage to cling on to postdoctoral fellow life (bums in academia).

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