Dear Uncle Colin,

Is there a reason you don’t use “Dr” in your author name?

- Presumably Has Doctorate

Hi, PHD! Thanks for your question.

Yes, there are several reasons.

The one I usually give is that my bank calls me Dr Beveridge and it makes me uneasy.

It’s also slightly dubious professionally to use it outside of an academic context (my doctorate isn’t in the kind of maths I write books about, so I feel it’s borderline). I reckon it also puts a bit of distance between me and the reader, which I don’t want - I’d rather be a knowledgeable peer ((No! Not Baronet Beveridge of Bincombe! The other kind of peer.)) than an authority.

There’s also the “people who use their academic qualifications as part of their author name are often peddling nonsense” excuse - not to mention “If Bertrand Russell didn’t use his Dr, neither should I.”

- Uncle Colin

* Edited 2022-12-29 to fix a footnote and remove a reference to Feynman.