���Michael Britt wrote on why Skinner preferred to be called Fred: > If I had a name like "Burrhus" I'd probably do the same thing.
A rather more famous person (in the UK at least) had a similar problem, but resolved it differently. Chief Inspector Morse, of the Oxford Criminal Investigation Department, insisted that people call him just "Morse" (though on one occasion he told someone his first name was "Inspector" – tee, hee!). For some reason he was bashful about revealing that his name was Endeavour. http://www.itv.com/drama/copsandcrime/morseweekend/castandcharacters/default.html Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London http://www.esterson.org -------------------------------------------- Re: [tips] Who put the BF in Skinner? Britt, Michael Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:09:29 -0800 If I had a name like "Burrhus" I'd probably do the same thing. Michael Britt mich...@thepsychfiles.com www.thepsychfiles.com Twitter: mbritt On Dec 16, 2009, at 2:04 PM, Paul Brandon wrote: Besides, he never liked his given first name, and much preferred 'Fred'. Anecdote: I got this story from C. B. (Charlie) Ferster; one of Skinner's first grad students: Ferster (a frequent visitor at Skinner's home) once walked into Skinner's living room to find Skinner seated on a sofa with a sign around his neck saying FRED. On Dec 16, 2009, at 12:29 PM, Jim Dougan wrote: At 12:22 PM 12/16/2009, you wrote: I could swear that your students will not know. Btw,why is he the only behavioral scienist we address with his first two inititials? We do not say P Brandon,C Green, S Black,or C Hull,so why the BF Skinner? Was there a Jaywalking episode where Jay Leno asked people what the BF stands for in BF Skinner? I am told by my graduate advisor (F.K. McSweeney) that it is something of a Harvard tradition to publish that way. Herrnstein sometimes went as R.J. Herrnstein. Stevens went by S.S. Stevens, etc. They are respectively called "Fran" Dick" and "Smitty" by friends - but they published using initials. Of course, Skinner's friends called him "Fred" so he does not break the pattern. Of course there is JER Staddon and MEP Seligman if we want to go to 3 initials. -- J.D. Dougan Paul Brandon Emeritus Professor of Psychology Minnesota State University, Mankato paul.bran...@mnsu.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
