There is something I don not get: Where did all those scientists in Fallout 3 (e.g., Li, James, & Cathrine) acquire their doctoral degree? Where and what did they study in the first place?

Who said they had degrees?


They aqquired their knowledge the same way scientists did throughout much history. Higher IQs than average, self taught knowledge through trial and error, knowledge passed down through generations. Others such as the doctor from the Commonwealth, came from surviving learning centres such as MIT (The Institute).

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So you think that because she's called a Doctor she has to have a doctorate? In our modern society, yes, she would have to, however the Capital Wasteland is lawless and the security forces in Rivet City have better things to do than arrest one of their only researchers because, despite having all the knowledge needed for the job, she doesn't have the necessary paperwork for it.

So with according to his logic than Doc Church and Doc Mitchel went to medical school...

There might have been one in a vault.

This is what I would say, too. The title "doctor" has likely persisted throughout time, less to mean one who has achieved certain academic standards, more to mean one who is accepted and respected to have a certain amount of medical, scientific, engineering, etc. type knowledge. I bet Pinkerton could easily be called "doctor" but perhaps because he uses his talents more for himself and less to actually help others, he wouldn't use it.

I agree with the above. The Title "doc" would go to anyone who had sufficiant medical skill to set a splint on a leg or do brainsurgery. Formal tuition would be vault based, but even that would still be more of a "master / apprentice" relationship than it would be formalized into what we today would demand of a doc.

Currently I don't know if there are any places that do for certain have Universities. But several places would need it. Soon. House for instance would need skilled engineers to refit buildings around the strip, professionals to fix up Hoover dam for the added power requirement, political influence vs the NCR (Power for caps or favors), building factories, he would need docs to combat epidemics, he would need skilled scientists to help set up his vision of propelling humankind into space, ect.

Vegas is growing. Fast. With that comes all the problems of urbanisation and all the benefits. Skilled professionals and their children would go to vegas for safety and jobs. Too many would come for vegas to absorb them. That would cause serious slums, but also a recruitmentpool where House could recruit the pick of the litter for his technocratic bureaucracy. And with the caps comming in he would be able to attract skilled workers from all over nevada and indeed from all of the NCR. BUT skilled workers also demand good things for their kids. Access to Medical help, basic education good sanitation and infrastructure. Safety for their loved ones. And the former head of RobCo most likely have blueprints and holotapes that the NCR hasnt got and have a lot of them.

Eventually there will be no more buildings to refit and refurbish. Nothing left to scrounge. Then whoever has the financial strenght, the military might, the manpower and the expertise to build from new will be the new hubs of power.

Doc mitchell got his in a Vault. I can only guess that people that call themselves Doctors in FO3 go theirs the way many in the originals did, by being an apprentice to someone who got their doctorate before the Great War. Or from someone who was an apprentice to a pre-war doctor.

Summary of the Doctors and scientists in FO3 "I can do complicated facial surgery :celebration: but I don't know how to grow corn :sadvaultboy:"

James and Madison Lee went to the University of Hard Knocks, i.e. smart people tend to work with other smart people over time to rebuild things. The Institute Dr. Zimmer spoke of is suspected to be the Robotics Research Institute of M.I.T., located in the "Commonwealth" of Massachusetts.

There is no canon ending yet (or is there, if there is please inform me) so you cannot just say House needs these things.

-True. There is no canon ending.

But I can say with great ease that he needs those things. Because it would be silly not to. And House is anything but silly. The only thing "wrong" he does is let the Followers get swamped to the point of exhaustion. And I am leaning toward "lore / logic" oversight on that ending. Having volunteer medical workers keep the health level at a decent level, avoiding epidemics and curbing infectious diseases at cost is one hell of a deal for anyone looking at cost/benifit. Sick people don't drink and gamble. Choleara/dysintary/ ect where potential clients have to travel... Where your employees might live... bad Idea. House like all good businessmen look to increase profits and promote repeat business.

Besides I am a Pol.sci major with a specialization in governance in the bureaucratic armpit of the world (Denmark, Europe) and I have a rather good insight into European history and state building in general. House is a technocratic "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Kuan_YewHe will drag Vegas into his vision of a prospering city and a hub of civilization. Kicking or screaming if need be.

I have trouble believing that a relatively complex state like NCR could function without an university or two, so I guess there must be a few in California. And to those of you saying that there is no need for universities in a (post-)post-apocalyptic world: many new subjects have been implemented or experienced an upswing in times of great change. Here are some ideas why different subjects are usefull in the postapocalypse.

Medicine: goes without science, loads of radiation related diseases to study
Geology: how to cure the soil of radiation
Biochemistry & forestry: how to develop crops that can grow in the wastelands
Mathematics, chemistry & physics: a tool for every other science
History & archaeology: discovering, learning from and preserving American history
Sociology: seeing the relation power structures and individuals in the postapocalypse, how societies form
Anthropology: there are a whole lot of tribes to study
National economy: a state needs an economic policy
Political science: how to govern
Engineering & other applied sciences: goes without saying, there is a lot of rebuilding to do

Of course there are Universities in fallout... Silly where else would Fantastic get his theoretical degree in physics :teehee:

NCR City probably has one.
The Vault City Education system also probably covers this area as well, as would any other vault-based city.

I was just reading about FotA from the Vault and they seem to have an university back in Boneyard.

Rusina is correct, the followers run a medical university as mentioned by Doctor Usanagi, it is the only one ever talked about.

'Doctor' does not have to mean doctorate. Army medics and Marine corpsman are given the nickname 'Doc' even though they may only have a year or so of combat first aid training, it just means someone who has medical knowledge. In Doctor Li's case I think she was given the title because she was one of the better scientific minds of the whole Capital Wasteland.

The NCR probably has several...someone is training the engineers that are rebuilding California's infrastructure. The curriculum is likely limited to things the NCR needs in the short term like engineers, researchers, botanists, veterinarians, physicians.....no degrees in "Women's Studies" or English Majors. The Followers are also keen on Anthropology and History so thier university is probably teaching that as well.

Somewhere in the East Coast is a Roman Catholic seminary...depending on the Order running it they might be turning out a number of graduates who are qualified scientists as well as priests and nuns.

Pinkerton says he and the people who helped him clear out what became Rivet City were part of the "Office of Naval Research" and came there looking for more lab space....most likely the original core scientists there trained promising youths, like Madison Li, James and Catharine, to pass down thier knowledge as they likely had done since the war.

Well, I agree that there are quite a lot of people running around in the wasteland that are called "doc" because of their medical proficiencies. Although, something makes me think that http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Zimmer has earned his degree the regular way and has http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Institute. Also, he might insist on not having a PhD. Hm, next time I will hand this defect robot in - http://llbbl.com/data/RPG-motivational/target87.html.

In the dark ages "doctor" was a term applied to pretty much anyone who wanted to have a bash at it. Tailors, butchers and barbers all doubled as town doctors, mostly because they had the (basic) equipment needed to perform amputations, stitch wounds, lance infections and that kind of thing.

I would think that most, not all, but most wasteland doctors are like this. They are the ones keen enough to have a go and lucky enough to not kill anyone in the process.

The facial reconstruction idea was indeed rediculous (could be why you can't do it in NV).