In this thread, it was pointed out that Roy “The Professor” Hinkley had an unusually broad expertise, except for repairing boats evidently. A quick google gave this link stating that the Professor had six college degrees before the age of 25. (The linked SDMB thread claimed it was 7, but six is obviously more fun . )
The TV Acers link claims a B.S., a B.A., an M.A., and a Ph.D., but doesn’t say what they were in, and that still leaves us 2 degrees short. So, given the Professor’s demonstrable expertise in just about every subject imaginable, what were his six degrees in? (Bonus points for Dissertation/Thesis titles).
B.S. in Biology (pre Med, including antidotes)
B.A. in Architecture (emphisis in native materials, and simple tools)
M.A. in Polynesian Languages
Ph.D in Electrical Engineering (“On the Properties of Sea Water, Coconuts, and Bamboo in Constructing a High Frequency Radio Receiver”)
Ph.D. in Biochemistry (“Tropical Plant Saps: Hallucinogenic Effects to Adhesive Properties”)
Ph.D. in Geology (“Sticks and Stones: Effective use of Rock, Lava, and Ore in Everyday Living”)
Ph.D in Meteorology, thesis on “Prevailing Winds of the South Pacific and the Likelyhood of a Raft/Bottle/Balloon/Carrier Pigeon being blown from a Desert Isle to Hawaii”
Reading the title, I thought this was going to be about Erdos Numbers, the “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” game for mathematicians and scientists. I wonder if Hinkley has one.
Paul Erdos wrote a paper with Ronald Graham who went on to write a paper with Shing-Tung Yao who in turn wrote a paper with Brian Greene. Brian Greene appeared in “Frequency” with John Cusack who had appeared in “Runaway Jury” with Ed Nelson who was in “Attack of the Crab Monsters” with Russell Johnson who played The Professor in “Giligan’s Island”.
This gives The Professor an enviable Erdos number of at least 6.
Do tell! And do we count all co-authorships for Erdös numbers, or only peer-reviewed papers? Because if the former, then I suspect that every published author who’s ever co-authored anything (which would include many Hollywooders: Authorized biographies, and the like) has a finite Erdös number.
As for the Professor, his most specialized knowledge all seems to be in chemistry (especially biochemistry), so I’m guessing that’s his Ph.D. But the most important point is that, according to the first episode, he was also a Scoutmaster. I’d bet that he was also an Eagle Scout before that, and that can encompass a heck of a lot of knowledge
IIRC, a prof. of mathematics with a finite Erdos number sent a letter to a magazine and signed his horse’s name to it. The magazine published the letter. Under the lax definition, that counts as a publication, and a ghost-written publication counts as a collaboration, so the horse gets an Erdos number one greater than that of its owner.
The lax definition also gives everyone who appears in the credits of Good Will Hunting (or Contact, or A Beautiful Mind) an Erdos number by virtue of collaboration with one of the math consultants who has one. I’m sure, then, that that would give almost everyone in the entertainment industry an Erdos number, along with everyone who’s ever co-authored anything.
Hate to hijack my own thread, but this tangent is more interesting than what I came up with. Russell Johnson has written a book, but I don’t know what else the co author (Steve Cox) has done, but it’s possible that he has a finite Erdos number. I tried to do a search, but I don’t know where to begin looking for Erdos links.
Did any notice that the Professor will be 80 this year?
A lot of what the Professor is able to do can be explained by one of his degrees being either in anthropology or archeology. Either of those pursuits might have led him to study the skills and knowledge of a primitve tropical culture. hence, his knowledge of hut building and other primitive skills.
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