Have you ever seen the highly educated in possession of firearm(s)?

[Alex_Sanders]

Professors, phd holders, do they practice the 2nd Amen.(2 lng, cnt spel)?

Even a NRA member like Michael Moore?

 

[Office_Shredder]

Yes.

 

[lisab]

No.

But people rarely expose the weapons they're carrying, regardless of what level of education they've attained.

 

[Vanadium 50]

A good friend of mine has a PhD, a couple hundred papers, is a fellow of the APS, and hunts regularly.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

A good friend of mine is a Ph.D nuclear engineer, a lifetime member of the NRA, and a highly dedicated gun owner interested only in personal defense.

 

[Adyssa]

Out of interest, how many times has he had to defend himself with the gun?

 

[HowardVAgnew]

Haven't most astronauts come from the Air Force or other military branches?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Out of interest, how many times has he had to defend himself with the gun?

None that I know of, but I've never asked.

I too have plenty of weapons for personal defense. Any reasonable person hopes to never use a gun for actual defense, but it you ever do need it, there is no substitution.

Most cops have never shot anyone, for that matter.

 

[Adyssa]

It's an interesting topic that's for sure. Here in Australia, guns just aren't really part of the culture.

 

[ThomasT]

Professors, phd holders, do they practice the 2nd Amen.(2 lng, cnt spel)?

Wrt the title question, yes. But, in my experience, most of the highly educated people I know don't bother owning guns. I think that that's primarily due to the fact that they tend to live in safe, upscale neighborhoods (the sorts of places where you can actually walk around at night unarmed and not worry about getting mugged).

Whether or not they, as a group, are predominantly in favor of, or opposed to, the 2nd Amendment ... I have no idea.

 

[Pythagorean]

Yep, and I hope to be one too. I like fresh, local meat.

 

[Pythagorean]

tend to live in safe, upscale neighborhoods (the sorts of places where you can actually walk around at night unarmed and not worry about getting mugged).

They must also lack the motive of hunting.

 

[ThomasT]

They must also lack the motive of hunting.

I have no idea about that. I would guess that there could be quite a lot of them. I just don't know any.

 

[alt]

Professors, phd holders, do they practice the 2nd Amen.(2 lng, cnt spel)?

Even a NRA member like Michael Moore?

I don't know too many highly educated folk, but I do know many highly successful ones. Many of them have firearms for protection only. A few are into hunting.

 

[turbo]

I don't consider myself "highly educated", but I live at least 20 minutes away from a nearest response. I'd rather have a couple of loaded pistols at the ready than not be prepared. I hunt with a single-shot rifle because I want to be sure and humane when killing a deer, so it's not like I'm some nut blazing away when I see a deer. I have spent too much time tracking wounded deer for others, and eventually I stopped doing that. It seems like that encouraged ###holes to blaze away with no clean kill-shot and no respect for the deer.

 

[jim hardy]

Well yes, education is no barrier to enjoyment of reloading, target shooting and appreciation of fine firearms.

Come on now you can't be serious about Michael Moore as "highly educated".
He's a busybody nincompoop dropout from U of Michigan-Flint who, if he had any business worth minding, would mind it instead of trying to mind everybody else's.


old jim

 

[ThomasT]

I don't consider myself "highly educated", but I live at least 20 minutes away from a nearest response. I'd rather have a couple of loaded pistols at the ready than not be prepared. I hunt with a single-shot rifle because I want to be sure and humane when killing a deer, so it's not like I'm some nut blazing away when I see a deer. I have spent too much time tracking wounded deer for others, and eventually I stopped doing that. It seems like that encouraged ###holes to blaze away with no clean kill-shot and no respect for the deer.

Well, you live in the country, right? That's different. I'd have a few guns, and maybe a lot more, if I lived 20 minutes from nearest response.

Most highly educated (ie., PhD) people live in urban areas (I'm guessing ... I don't know) due to proximity to companies, colleges, various research facilities, etc.

I used to like to go out and shoot with a few friends. Mostly we shot at cans and stuff. But I'm only medium highly educated.

I gave the guns to my nephews. Hopefully they won't have to kill anything with them. Currently, I'm totally unarmed, living in a really nice section of Fort Lauderdale.

 

[turbo]

A couple of people that I knew as a kid (fathers of close friends) were reloaders. They wouldn't buy new ammunition when they could could reload their own. One of the fathers was a doctor and the other was the only lawyer in town. They weren't ignorant people. They would sometimes spend quiet evenings in their basements resizing shell casings, re-loading shot shells, etc. They might not have been the smartest people in town, but they had the most college education.

 

[ThomasT]

A couple of people that I knew as a kid (fathers of close friends) were reloaders. They wouldn't buy new ammunition when they could could reload their own. One of the fathers was a doctor and the other was the only lawyer in town. They weren't ignorant people. They would sometimes spend quiet evenings in their basements resizing shell casings, re-loading shot shells, etc. They might not have been the smartest people in town, but they had the most college education.

A doctor and a lawyer. Yeah, that qualifies as highly educated, albeit in a niche sense. But then, I suppose that's characteristic of all high education.

Anyway, I think a lot of it has to do with one's circumstances. If I had decided to stay in the town I grew up in I'd probably be a reloader, no matter what my level of educatiion. But instead I got into tennis ... and other things. It's just circumstances, situations. A lot of which we don't pay attention to until it's gotten hold of us and it becomes apparent that it's determining the course of our lives.

Anyway, guns are an ok hobby, and, for some people in some situations, a necessity, imho.

 

[Astronuc]

I know a few highly educated folks, including PhDs, who own guns, collect guns in some cases, hunt and/or do competitive shooting. They don't advertise it - except perhaps in their personal space.

 

[Dr Transport]

Absolutely, collect, shoot and hunt. Also a veteran, 20+ years as a combat engineer/demo expert, I usually hit what I aim at and it doesn't survive...

 

[fluidistic]

Hi turbo,
have you ever shot a bear? My cousins have a country house a few km away from Maine's fronteer (in Québec). The neighboor has shot bears and many other animals I think... but he worked in the wild forest.

 

[turbo]

Hi turbo,
have you ever shot a bear? My cousins have a country house a few km away from Maine's fronteer (in Québec). The neighboor has shot bears and many other animals I think... but he worked in the wild forest.

I don't shoot bears because I don't eat them. I have had bear steaks and roasts (thanks to neighbors when I was a kid), but that meat doesn't compare with venison. I am a still-hunter, so I see more potential game than most people in the woods, but I still won't shoot a bear.

I had a bear living on the back-end of my property a couple of years back, and though (s)he ripped down one of my welded-wire suet-feeders right in front of this window, I bore it no ill-will. The previous year that bear decimated a huge nest of white-faced hornets that were preventing me from accessing a particularly nice patch of blackberries.

Black bears will run from you if they can. The are not aggressive or trouble-makers, so I leave them strictly alone. There are people up here who bait bears, and then put packs of dogs on their scent, just so some rich jerks from out-of-state can "bag a bear". I think this practice is reprehensible and should be banned, but there are business interests involved that have more clout than I do.

 

[turbo]

I should add that one of my oldest friends is both a pharmacist and an attorney, and when he comes back to Maine to visit me, he usually wants to go to the local sand-pit and target-shoot and plink. He's one of the few people with the hand-strength to handle my Glock Model 20 (10mm Auto) accurately.

 

[fluidistic]

I see, thank you very much.
P.S.:In Québec they warn people about bears when the mothers get the children. Apparently they can be aggressive during this period (I don't remember if it was automn). When you're alone in a forest and in front of such a bear, I guess it's always good to have a weapon, just in case.

 

[turbo]

I see, thank you very much.
P.S.:In Québec they warn people about bears when the mothers get the children. Apparently they can be aggressive during this period (I don't remember if it was automn). When you're alone in a forest and in front of such a bear, I guess it's always good to have a weapon, just in case.

It's always a good idea to stay away from any large "mama" when they have little ones. Not just bears, but moose, too. A very large protective mother can be dangerous, so it's best to give them room.

 

[alexg]

Besides, target shooting is fun.

I went to one of the best engineering and science schools in the US, and we had both rifle and handgun teams. (as well as a fencing team).

 

[Alex_Sanders]

Besides, target shooting is fun.

I went to one of the best engineering and science schools in the US, and we had both rifle and handgun teams. (as well as a fencing team).

Yes, one of the best, let's see:

MIT
Stanford
UCB
UIUC

GT, TA&M, MSU,SCU, UCLA...

did I hit anything?

 

[Office_Shredder]

I'm guessing MIT

 

[mathwonk]

does highly educated include knowing the stats on how likely people with guns are to shoot someone in their own house and family as opposed to a burglar?

i grew up handling guns and shooting in the basement from age 10, because my father was involved in actual gunfights as a young man in the early part of the 20th century, but when i grew up i moved away from that wild west mentality, and became slightly more civilized. (In my 20's I carried a lugger's hook instead of a gun.)

Now that some legislators are considering allowing students to pack heat, I am very glad I am retired, or I would have to alter my grade scale radically.

Basically there are two points of view on this: there are those who believe there are good and bad people, and that the good people need weapons to protect themselves from the bad people. There is some truth to this of course.

But then there are those who believe there are calm people and angry people, and that when people get angry it is better if they are not armed. There is also some truth to this.

I belong to the second group, as I have noticed I can make almost anyone angry. (i.e. how do you feel right now?)

hence I prefer a world where as few people as possible are armed.

 

[Drakkith]

Basically there are two points of view on this: there are those who believe there are good and bad people, and that the good people need weapons to protect themselves from the bad people. There is some truth to this of course.

But then there are those who believe there are calm people and angry people, and that when people get angry it is better if they are not armed. There is also some truth to this.

I understand what you mean but I am a believer of allowing people to do what they want as long as it isn't a MAJOR problem. (Which I don't believe it is or ever has been a major problem except in specific areas) And even then there are steps you can take other than banning guns, such as enforcing Firearm Safety courses and similar things to encourage safe gun use. It's a difficult decision to decide how far you go on gun laws.

 

[Pythagorean]

I prefer tough tests to get armed. But I will pass them.

 

[mathwonk]

i believe you. just let me know when you are coming through town so i can leave.

 

[Pythagorean]

Unless you live in deer country, I probably won't be packing any firearms...

 

[alexg]

Yes, one of the best, let's see:

MIT
Stanford
UCB
UIUC

GT, TA&M, MSU,SCU, UCLA...

did I hit anything?

Nope.

Cooper Union School of Engineering.

 

[mege]

My best friend from high school is a gun nut - collects all sorts (and moved to Texas just so he could possesses a larger variety of firearms). He has a MS in Aero Eng.

My brother-in-law (wife's brother) has a Pharm.D. and enjoys his hunting. Field dressing a deer with him is fun, it's an anatomy lesson at the same time!

My sister has an Au.D. and regularly shoots for sport with her husband (whom has 2x BS - Physics and Civil Eng) and some friends (a mix of various careers - 2 have or are close to J.D.s). My sister prefers a bow still, I think, but it shows up her husband too much :p

Another friend from high school has a Ph.D. in communications and is a professor at a small university. He does competitive western shooting.

Come to think of it - I can't think of a 'highly educated' person that I know whom is not (at the bare minimum) proficent with firearms. Maybe it's more to do with locality than actual education: I grew up in Northern-Lower Michigan and my Wife's family is from Northern Wisconsin.

 

[jim hardy]

Some years ago i wrote a 'letter to the editor' of Miami Herald criticizing him for an anti 2nd amendment editorial.

he printed the last two lines of it,

"I may not like what you said but i must defend to the death your right to say it.
If it comes to that I'd like to be armed."

old jim

 

[Pythagorean]

I'm actually not terribly concerned about retaining the 2nd amendment.

Your editor defending your words to the death probably won't be as effective with a gun as with a computer and an internet connection.

 

[turbo]

I'm actually not terribly concerned about retaining the 2nd amendment.

Your editor defending your words to the death probably won't be as effective with a gun as with a computer and an internet connection.

Most folks with guns here are decent people, and they want to hunt deer, shoot waterfowl and rabbits, etc. Maybe they are not all highly educated, but you can trust them.

 

[OldEngr63]

Most of the PhDs that I know do shoot, including myself. A lot of them took it up in graduate school as a sport. I went to UT-Austin.

 

[Alex_Sanders]

Nope.

Cooper Union School of Engineering.

Oh, I see, it's... one of those colleges.

 

[alexg]

Oh, I see, it's... one of those colleges.

No, it's one of these.

From wiki.

Cooper is considered to be one of the most prestigious colleges in the United States, with all three of its member schools consistently ranked among the highest in the country.[5] .

The Cooper Union is one of very few American institutions of higher learning to offer a full-tuition scholarship – valued at $140,000 as of 2010 – to every admitted student. As a result, The Cooper Union is one of the most selective colleges in the United States, with an acceptance rate generally below 10%, with both the art and architecture schools' acceptance rates often below 5%.[6] Cooper Union experienced a 20% increase in applications for the 2008–2009 academic year, further lowering the acceptance ratio.[7] The school also experienced a 70% increase in early decision applications for the 2009–2010 academic year.[8] As a result of its record low acceptance ratio for the fall-2010 incoming class, Cooper Union was named by Newsweek Magazine as the "#1 Most Desirable Small School"[9] and "#7 Most Desirable School"[10] overall.

The year I entered, Cooper placed ahead of both MIT and CalTech in the annual IEEE competition.

 

[Alex_Sanders]

No, it's one of these.

From wiki.



The year I entered, Cooper placed ahead of both MIT and CalTech in the annual IEEE competition.

Alright alright... I get it...


Hope you don't mind staying in touch with me from time to time... Ok if I send you a friend request?

 

[Danger]

Amendments are irrelevant to me, because I live on the civilized side of the border.

In Québec they warn people about bears when the mothers get the children. Apparently they can be aggressive during this period (I don't remember if it was automn). When you're alone in a forest and in front of such a bear, I guess it's always good to have a weapon, just in case.

Since the big Q is also on the civilized side, handguns and a lot of the best long-arms are legal no-no's. I would shoot a bear (or anything else) only in self-defense. Leaving the scene is always my first choice, unless I have to defend someone else. In the case of a bear, my weapon of choice would be a 10 or 12 gauge pump shotgun stuffed with SSG magnums. (I think that Yanks call them 00 buckshot.) A couple of those upside your face will seriously garner your attention, regardless of how furry you are.
I have to get into an extensive conversation with Turbo regarding Glocks, but that's for later. My carry companion was a Llama Model IX, which is almost exactly the same as a 1911-A1 Colt but with a couple of extra non-invasive safeties. That totaled 5 safeties in the gun itself, and I built a 6th into the home-made holster. There was no way in the world, including fire, that could make that thing go off unless I wanted it to. (I mentioned fire only for the benefit on non-gunners who seem to think that 3-Stooges movies were accurate. A cooked-off round probably wouldn't kill a mouse.)
About 20 years ago, I promised the ex-from-hell that I wouldn't kill anything that wasn't chasing me down an alley. Luckily, I was put on anti-depressants for my ADD soon after. (I still refer to them as my "I don't want to kill anybody today pills".)
Due to a minor conflict with the law, my firearms were confiscated and melted down years ago. So, starting over... my new best friend, when I can get my mitts on one, will be the Colt New Agent .45 ACP. I like Turbo's choice of the 10 mm in principle, but even with my home-made explosive rounds that cartridge presents more of an over-penetration hazard than I care for.

edit: By the bye, I am not educated. Never finished high-school. I love irritating people who did, though.

 

[Permanence]

Yes. I don't think intelligence is necessarily correlated with the choice. Keep in mind a professor of mathematics may not entirely understand the issue or consequences at hand as it is not a field of his or her expertise.

 

[Aero51]

The only guns I carry use 700 Nitro Express rounds.