克萊登大學

美國的克萊登大學，曾經因為圍城和方鴻漸的關係而名揚天下。

後來聽說楊蘭的老公，也畢業於這所知名學府。

最近在看一本小說，是Carl Hiaasen寫的《Skinny Dip》（中文名《裸浴》）。裏麵的主人公 Chaz Perrone博士，就差點成了方鴻漸先生和吳征博士的學弟，就連畢業論文的題目和故事的結局，也都十分的神似（《試論糖為什麽是甜的？》／複旦大學的博士）。

為什麽？小說中是這樣寫的：

It dawned on Chaz that he wasdoomed to minimum-wage hell unless he obtained a master's degree, so he purchased one from a popular dimloma mill in Colorado. The eight-week mail-order course guaranteed graduation (with honors) for a fee of $999, which Chaz remorselessly conned from his mother. Any topic vaguely related to biology was acceptable for a thesis paper, double-spacing being the only academic requirement. Chaz's opus, researched one afternoon in the produce section of the local supermarket, was titled "A Comparative Analysis of Late-Season Oranges, Ruby Grapefruits, and Tangelos".

Ten days after mailing off the sinished manuscript - a cashier's check clipped to the cover page, as required - he received a certified letter stating that the school had been shut down, stripped of its accreditation and evicted from the strip mail where its "campus" had been headquartered.

Grudgingly, Chaz accepted the fact that he might have to physically attend classes in order to secure an advanced degree.

幸運的是，這位主人公得到親戚的和企業的讚助，最終獲得邁阿密大學的海洋生物學碩士和杜克大學濕地研究中心的生物學博士學位。

值得指出的是，美國人對於學曆的迷信，一點也不下於國人。而杜克大學的濕地研究中心，在數據造假方麵則赫赫有名。

最近和女兒的學校（小學）的一個老師聊天，他告訴我說他是博士，而且是某知名大學的兼職教授。

哪所大學？

噢，克萊登大學！