Part of what motivated my question today was the amusement at being called Dr. by some guy at work. Since I work in a hospital, he just assumed I was an MD. Alas, I am "just" a programmer.
At UVA it's against the rules to call anyone doctor who isn't an MD.
1. Academics actually have a better historical- and linguistic claim to the title "doctor" than do physicians and surgeons.
From Wikipedia: "Doctor, as a title, originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb docēre [dɔˈkeːrɛ] 'to teach'. It has been used as an honored academic title for over a millennium in Europe, where it dates back to the rise of the first universities." [1]
2. In the UK, surgeons are called "Mister" for historical reasons, as explained by a FAQ of the Royal College of Surgeons. [2]
I suspect I've taken classes with over 50 professors, and only heard that once. And in that case she'd repeatedly asked the students to use her first name, and someone kept calling her "Mrs", and eventually she corrected the student: "Not Mrs. Either <firstname> or Dr. <lastname>".
Haha ... I've never been referred to as Doctor after the friendly "congrats Dr. X" when I finished my PhD. The funny thing is .. I only cared about it before I got my PhD. After that, it doesn't matter to me one bit.
Well .. it would be nice if I could put Dr. on my passport or drivers license. But that doesn't seem to be an option.
