Vonderplanitz formal education???

[laterade]

Where did he attend school?

[Sitting Coyote]

Excellent question.  I hope someone who's close to him will chime in, as I have serious questions about the PhD he claims to have. 

[goodsamaritan]

Don't get me wrong, I came from the most prestigious university in my country. (mechanical engineering)

I never asked this (formal education question) from the healers I paid books to and I enrolled online with.
What is important is their principles of healing work and I experiment on myself and it works the same.

It is from these mavericks that schools should be founded upon.

The entire western medical dogma is such a failure for myself and my family, and the mavericks are so right on the actual results.

It's about results.

The only Aajonus' idea that didn't work for me was dairy.

[achillezzz]

University of Life

[CitrusHigh]

Yeah I'd like to know too, but only as a curiosity about someone I deeply respect, and at bare minimum owe my health to, and possibly my sight.I used to be a robot like most until his ideas shook the foundation of my view of modern society. He really caused me to realize that everything I thought I knew needed a second look. In fact I'd list it in the top 5 most life changing experiences.

Besides, how much less value is there in a degree from a broken and backwards system? If it didn't come from mainstream theory it would hold a lot more weight for me.

[laterade]

I don't value approval letters from the government organizations.
(This totally pisses my dad off)

Curiosity brings the question. His methods have helped me an incredible amount.
Somewhere I read he has a "self-appointed PhD"
That kindof makes me giggle, why not just say
"college is where your health problems originated"

[michaelwh]

In one of his workshops, Aajonus said that after high school, he went to a computer technology institute in Cincinnati. He was borderline autistic and couldn't communicate very well, but he was good at math, and computer programming. He worked for a trucking company doing computer programming work.

According to Scott Wheeler, Aajonus' PhD is an honorary degree. See message 761 of:
http://flexrx.nourished.com.au/2008/08/06/the-primal-diet/

Scott is the guy in this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-PcGP0BLqM

I think that people should be judged not by their credentials, or formal education, but by the validity of their work.

For example, take a look at this ridiculous book, written by 2 PhDs:
http://www.amazon.com/Galileo-Was-Wrong-Church-Right/dp/0977964000

As for Aajonus, I think that he has a lot of wisdom and experience, and I respect him a lot, but after reading some of the things that he has written about electromagnetic fields and radioactivity, I must say that his understanding of basic physics is not very good.

Biology is a very messy science, and if somebody makes a claim that's inconsistent with well-established biology, I would consider it seriously. But physics is very precise and rigorous. If somebody makes a claim that's inconsistent with well-established physics, I'm very skeptical.

[laterade]

Ok... but what is an honorary degree?
Did he attend a school?
did jump on the computer, type up and print out a piece of paper and say
"here, I have a Phd now! Muahaha!"   

Wtf is going on here?

[CitrusHigh]

Can you give us and example michael of comments Aajonus has made? I've had very little direct experience with Aajonus' work, I have only read and own TRFLWD. And I hopped on PD before I even read that, when I read about Aajonus' position the second time everything clicked and I went it alone after that except for more searching around the web. So, I'm just curious about a guy that helped change my life.

[klowcarb]

Follow what works for YOU instead of gurus.

[CitrusHigh]

I don't look at Aaj as a guru, I look at him as an elder, who has been eating what I consider to be properly, for 40 yrs now i think, that's 37 more than myself. I'm 24 and I don't feel like I have any elders in my life. My grandparents are SAD to the max, so is most of my extended family. It's ridiculous that I have to teach my grandparents how to eat real foods again. So having an elder like Aajonus is something I value. That doesn't mean his word is law for me, only that he is responsible for opening my eyes and giving me the tools to be the master of my health and I give I'm interested to hear more from him.

Think about natives who grow up surrounded by elders, people who are awake and aware their entire lives, all the knowledge they have to teach. We in western society, and maybe even in civilization in general have been robbed of that mostly. Thank God for the internet!

[achillezzz]

I don't look at Aaj as a guru, I look at him as an elder, who has been eating what I consider to be properly, for 40 yrs now i think, that's 37 more than myself. I'm 24 and I don't feel like I have any elders in my life. My grandparents are SAD to the max, so is most of my extended family. It's ridiculous that I have to teach my grandparents how to eat real foods again. So having an elder like Aajonus is something I value. That doesn't mean his word is law for me, only that he is responsible for opening my eyes and giving me the tools to be the master of my health and I give I'm interested to hear more from him.

Think about natives who grow up surrounded by elders, people who are awake and aware their entire lives, all the knowledge they have to teach. We in western society, and maybe even in civilization in general have been robbed of that mostly. Thank God for the internet!

word!!!!!!!!

[laterade]

Citrushigh and klowcarb... I agree with you all the way.
But I am just curious.
Does Av have the gonads to just print out a degree himself?   

[RawZi]

gonads to just print out a degree himself?  

what is an honorary degree?

    If a person has an honorary degree, it does not mean they printed it and it does not mean they studied officially at the school that gave them the degree.  It means the school honored this person with a degree; because this person (I don't know if av is one) deserves a degree, and the school does not want to do wrong by society.  IME it's better than a regular degree in some ways.

[ys]

basically honorary degree means absolutely nothing, it is nothing but an elitist gift.  kind of like knighthood.

[laterade]

What makes sense... in a way.
I wish I could get a degree without paying a ton of cash to spend time listening to fools.

(the curiosity continues)
Now I want to know who gave him that honorary degree!

[ForTheHunt]

basically honorary degree means absolutely nothing, it is nothing but an elitist gift.  kind of like knighthood.

It can also mean the institution feels the person is WORTHY of their degree, with their current knowledge, with OUT studying at their institution.

[RawZi]

could get a degree without paying a ton of cash to spend time listening to fool

    That would be very nice.  Me too, it would be nice not to listen to some of the current "professors".

    That said, it can often be hugely more costly in many ways to learn things well enough on your own to get an honorary degree.

   

[TylerDurden]

I view most education as being fraudulent, having had relatives in academia.  The academic world is full of inherent bias, filled with countless incompetent mediocrities to the point where anyone who sticks his neck out by having an original creative thought often has his career ruined. Plus, I have come across numerous examples of people who failed at exams or didn't go to university for a variety of reasons, who then subsequently did well for themselves despite,(and in some cases) because of, not doing well in education.

[goodsamaritan]

On the other hand, I think engineering courses are essential.
Without real educated engineers, industries wouldn't run this well.

I took up mechanical engineering, and it was my engineering problem solving skills that helped me learn about real health, about real healing, to heal myself and other people.  Engineering makes theoretical science a reality.

[laterade]

That would be very nice.  Me too, it would be nice not to listen to some of the current "professors".
That said, it can often be hugely more costly in many ways to learn things well enough on your own to get an honorary degree.

Most current(public school) professors are a joke, but with my view on government, it does not surprise me.
It may not be as expensive as you think. Most courses are on the internet, granted they are a few years old. One can learn a tremendous amount on the internet. Much more than any college offers. Many teachers even use google as part of their presentation.
The only problem is that you must feed yourself while learning all of this stuff. Without a degree, you really have to be lucky enough to have developed skills that people are willing to pay for. If not then you will be working your ass off for minimum wage, and have little time to learn. But hey, it's better then driving up a 100,000 dollar debt or more. However when it is all said and done, you will probably not need a stinky diploma, as you would have thought up a way to make money by then.  

I view most education as being fraudulent, having had relatives in academia.  The academic world is full of inherent bias, filled with countless incompetent mediocrities to the point where anyone who sticks his neck out by having an original creative thought often has his career ruined. Plus, I have come across numerous examples of people who failed at exams or didn't go to university for a variety of reasons, who then subsequently did well for themselves despite,(and in some cases) because of, not doing well in education.

I hope to be one of those people! I love my parents so much for establishing a variety of skills in me, many people older than me have hardly any skills at all. The only problem is that I have yet to conjure up a way to turn this into money.... Hopefully some good ideas hit me over the head soon  

[laterade]

On the other hand, I think engineering courses are essential.
Without real educated engineers, industries wouldn't run this well.

I took up mechanical engineering, and it was my engineering problem solving skills that helped me learn about real health, about real healing, to heal myself and other people.  Engineering makes theoretical science a reality.

I'd imagine mechanical/technical education to be essential. Flying/ fixing skills regarding a plane should be evaluated and tested. In contrast, Philosophy... not so much. Doctors should also be evaluated, but we would have better doctors if the government did not pose a threat to competing agencies. None of which exist because the govt will kill or cage you if you try to compete with them. At this point in time anyway.

[michaelwh]

Can you give us and example michael of comments Aajonus has made? I've had very little direct experience with Aajonus' work, I have only read and own TRFLWD. And I hopped on PD before I even read that, when I read about Aajonus' position the second time everything clicked and I went it alone after that except for more searching around the web. So, I'm just curious about a guy that helped change my life.

Here's one example that comes to my mind:

In one of his newsletters, he wrote an article about the effect of electromagnetic fields on health. He stated that electromagnetic fields emit waves of neutrons and protons. No matter how you try to interpret that, it is false, and it makes no sense. At the fundamental level, electromagnetic fields are made up of photons. They can behave as particles or as waves, depending on the type of observation/experiment being performed.



Regarding the discussion about education and academia:

While there are certainly some bad professors/lecturers out there, there are also plenty of very good ones. In my 1st year of undergrad, a very good prof inspired me and changed my life. I'm currently finishing up graduate school, and I've had my share of both good and bad profs. But the net experience was definitely a positive one.

Also, not all fields of study are corrupted by corporate interests (pharmaceutical, agricultural, etc).

[ys]

Yale gave George W Bush honorary PHD.  what does it mean? absolutely nothing.

[Sitting Coyote]

For those who are interested, I'd recommend the books An Underground History of American Education and Weapons of Mass Instruction, by John Taylor Gatto on the perils of our modern industrial education system.  It touches on several issues brought up above.

I am also still curious where AV got his honorary PhD from, if that is what he has.  In fact, anyone on this board could easily get a less than honorary PhD from a variety of degree factories online as long as he was willing to fork out some cash.

As someone who chose the path of working hard for a real PhD from an accredited institution (I defend my dissertation on March 10, 2011), it matters to me how or where he received his from.  Folks above are of course correct in that a degree does not guarantee that its holder has any amount of intelligence, but for those of us who do end up with intelligence it is demoralizing to see what we have worked hard to achieve devalued by others who take the easy, and less honorable, route.