By RICHARD NEBELLos Alamos
The question of who uses their titles and who doesn’t was settled a long time ago in Los Alamos.
The story I heard dates back to WWII. Every Friday evening Oppenheimer would host a party. At this party he would introduce the new arrivals who had come the previous week.
At one of these parties, he introduced a couple as “Dr. and Mrs. so-and-so”. Later he heard a lady (whose husband was an MD) ask “Mrs. so-and-so” if “her husband was a real doctor or
just another one of those PhDs.”
just another one of those PhDs.”
The next week Oppenheimer sent out a memo suggesting that the only people who should use their titles were medical personnel (MDs, dentists, etc.) since it was just too confusing otherwise.
Personally, I think this is a nice tradition and we should keep it that way.
