UNM professor: Obese need not apply for PhD
A University of New Mexico professor is under fire for tweeting that obese people do not have what it takes to earn a PhD.
Dr. Geoffrey Miller is an assistant professor of psychology at UNM. He posted the following comment on his Twitter account: “Dear obese PhD applicants: If you didn’t have the willpower to stop eating carbs, you won’t have the willpower to do a dissertation.”
The tweet sparked loads of reaction on the professor’s Twitter account. Several people have also contacted the university.
Psychology department Chairwoman Professor Jane Ellen Smith was shocked when she heard what he’d written.
“The idea that the psychology department here at the UNM or any department at UNM would be discriminating against people because of their size or shape It's just outlandish,” Smith said. “It’s nothing we would ever do.”
Miller has now posted an apology on his account, and said the tweet does not reflect his PhD selection process.
Smith said Miller told her the tweet was part of a research project. Miller, who was already on unpaid leave and working at New York University when he posted the tweet, told UNM officials he’s been sending provocative tweets for months and is measuring reaction to them. UNM is investigating that claim.
Action 7 News reached out to Miller via email for his reaction to the story and to learn more about the reported research project, but he did not return our request for comment.
Dr. Geoffrey Miller is an assistant professor of psychology at UNM. He posted the following comment on his Twitter account: “Dear obese PhD applicants: If you didn’t have the willpower to stop eating carbs, you won’t have the willpower to do a dissertation.”
The tweet sparked loads of reaction on the professor’s Twitter account. Several people have also contacted the university.
Psychology department Chairwoman Professor Jane Ellen Smith was shocked when she heard what he’d written.
“The idea that the psychology department here at the UNM or any department at UNM would be discriminating against people because of their size or shape It's just outlandish,” Smith said. “It’s nothing we would ever do.”
Miller has now posted an apology on his account, and said the tweet does not reflect his PhD selection process.
Smith said Miller told her the tweet was part of a research project. Miller, who was already on unpaid leave and working at New York University when he posted the tweet, told UNM officials he’s been sending provocative tweets for months and is measuring reaction to them. UNM is investigating that claim.
Action 7 News reached out to Miller via email for his reaction to the story and to learn more about the reported research project, but he did not return our request for comment.
Anyway, that got me to thinking about the time I'm wasting even now. It's no secret I've been behind schedule for everything I'm working on now. And so, I've been working to catch up on things. Not kinda working, not sorta working, but trying to spend every moment I have toward that goal. None of these projects are Earth-shattering, and that's the problem - I've treated them that way for years and failed to spend the time on them that I should have.
And yeah, a large portion of this is about that pile of unread magazines. It just bugs the hell out of me. But at the same time, I was at the point where I realized it was unlikely that I would be able to catch up on all of them by the end of the summer. It was an optimistic goal (considering my history) when I started, but it soon became clear that it would be impossible.
I'm not going to blame all of this on that article, but the article did its share of making me think about these things. And so, for me, I've been working at hyperspeed, getting these things done - without changing the rules I've made for myself. I can't skip articles - I have to read the magazines cover to cover. I have to actually read them, which means comprehension. I may not remember every name (I won't; I'm horrible with names), but I will understand what and why and how. Or as much as the article allows me to do so.
Magazines aren't my only project, but I'm working harder on that one than others at the moment. Sadly, after the larger-than-normal effort of the past couple weeks, there are still 58 magazines to go.
One more thing - I am a hoarder. I still have unread magazines older than that from when I was in college or when I was working full time. While deep down, those bug me as well, they don't bug me nearly as much. I had other things to do that took up a huge percentage of my waking hours. Indeed, I had almost no free time in college. The point is that I have all the time in the world now and I just simply don't apply any of it to anything.
Yeah, this is a proxy for another project, but that one is finally moving as well, though more slowly than I'd like.
- Jim
