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Over on the aptly named MADboard, The Good Professor is putting up a stout defense against accusations that he has been made wealthy by his Mopologetic activities:

Daniel Peterson wrote:

rameumptom wrote:I was hoping you'd either tell us about the evils of anti-Prop 8 and lead a march downtown on the SLC temple, or tell us how you plan on spending the millions you make on these speeches on Christmas gifts.

I'm thinking of buying a Wall Street investment firm for each of my kids this year. The asking prices are very attractive at the moment. The exchange rate is roughly 2.5 lucrative Peterson firesides per brokerage house.

Well, this is very "funny," of course. The reality is that the "lucrative Peterson firesides" actually pay for extremely lavish vacations to all kinds of exotic locales. Think about all the times that DCP has boasted about his extensive world travels. How many academics of his stature do you know of who travel this much? (Yes, yes---I realize that, as Harmony once suggested, his wife may be the primary breadwinner. But if this is the case, then DCP has been bragging at his wife's expense.) DCP's bragging about his travels seems akin to the Wall Street executive who is constantly making mention of his Ferrari, or his 5th Avenue apartment, and so on. There are many kinds of wealth, after all. What seems clear is that The Good Professor has indeed gotten very, very wealthy off of his Mopologetic activities and associations.

I had always assumed that most of his travels were associated with BYU, and paid for by the university. The stronger indicators of "wealth" would be conspicuous items like cars, houses, fancy clothes etc.

Mister Scratch wrote:...

Daniel Peterson wrote:...

Well, this is very "funny," of course ...

And at first read, this ad has came up - as something fitting to the topic ...

Jealous?

cinepro wrote:I had always assumed that most of his travels were associated with BYU, and paid for by the university.

I don't disagree with that, cinepro. What is extraordinary is just how extensive his travels have been. (Including lavish vacations for all his kids.) Honestly, do you know any other academics who go on as many exotic trips as The Good Professor? Just how much of a budget does BYU have for this sort of thing? I think you'll have to admit that this is quite irregular.

The stronger indicators of "wealth" would be conspicuous items like cars, houses, fancy clothes etc.

I agree. And that's what's so diabolical about all of this.

Mister Scratch wrote:What seems clear is that The Good Professor has indeed gotten very, very wealthy off of his Mopologetic activities and associations.

lol

Mister Scratch wrote:I don't disagree with that, cinepro. What is extraordinary is just how extensive his travels have been. (Including lavish vacations for all his kids.)

I love lavish. DCP doesn't confine his riches to vacations for family members, mind you. After hearing of some of my recent plumbing problems DCP had the following commode delivered to my humble abode.

http://www.totousa.com/productpage.asp?PID=692

Mister Scratch wrote:

cinepro wrote:I had always assumed that most of his travels were associated with BYU, and paid for by the university.

I don't disagree with that, cinepro. What is extraordinary is just how extensive his travels have been. ... Honestly, do you know any other academics who go on as many exotic trips as The Good Professor? Just how much of a budget does BYU have for this sort of thing? I think you'll have to admit that this is quite irregular.

I don't know exactly how much DCP travels, but I know senior academics who travel just a few weeks per year, and others who are away a few weeks per month. They often pay expenses with their own credit card and gets reimbursed by whoever made the invitation. The home institute pays nothing (well, they still pay his salary while the celebrity academic goes to Europe or wherever). Ultimately, successful people get more invitations than they can accept -- not because of financial limitations but because they have teaching and departmental obligations at the home institute. Maybe DCP has too much free time.

LifeOnaPlate wrote:I love lavish. DCP doesn't confine his riches to vacations for family members, mind you. After hearing of some of my recent plumbing problems DCP had the following commode delivered to my humble abode.

http://www.totousa.com/productpage.asp?PID=692

If only you could see DCP's solid gold toilet. Here's a picture:



Of course, only those at the pinnacle of Mopologetics enjoy things such as this. Someday, if Scratch can keep up his campaign of daily watershed moments, god willing, the rest of the world will wake up and realize that the real wealth on this planet isn't controlled by industrialists, financiers, and tech kingpins. It is controlled by MOPOLOGISTS!!!!! The Forbes 100 list will be filled with the likes of DCP, Bill Hamblin, Lou Midgely, etc.

The Dude wrote:
I don't know exactly how much DCP travels, but I know senior academics who travel just a few weeks per year, and others who are away a few weeks per month. They often pay expenses with their own credit card and gets reimbursed by whoever made the invitation. The home institute pays nothing (well, they still pay his salary while the celebrity academic goes to Europe or wherever). Ultimately, successful people get more invitations than they can accept -- not because of financial limitations but because they have teaching and departmental obligations at the home institute. Maybe DCP has too much free time.

Some good points here, Dude. And how many of these "celebrity" academics, I wonder, also get to drag their children along for the ride? How many of them get "comped" for what is, in essence, a hobby, rather than an actual scholarly vocation?