The Academic Paradox: Credentials Vs. Confidence

The eternal academic flex-off between comic book geniuses! Reed Richards—the elastic-brained mastermind of the Fantastic Four—has accumulated a ridiculous 18 doctorates yet still goes by "Mister" Fantastic. Meanwhile, Victor von Doom skipped the whole "earning credentials" thing and just awarded himself a doctorate like he's running a degree mill with exactly one customer. It's the ultimate scientific impostor syndrome paradox: the guy with ALL the qualifications downplays them, while the self-appointed "Doctor" builds his entire brand on academic credentials he never earned. Every grad student understands this pain—spending years becoming an expert only to have some guy in a metal mask declare himself your intellectual superior.