What is a PhD? What does it take to do a PhD? How is a PhD different? 

Questions that more than 99% of the people on Earth ask more than once in their lifetime. And yet, not a clear answer for one ever emerges. Less than 1% of people in this world opt for the most advanced degree in Science and Engineering: the Doctor of Philosophy. Ever wonder why all these people get awarded the same basic degree even though they work in highly specialized but diverse areas with little or no overlap. Why would a Mathematician get the same degree as a Biologist? A little later I will examine this question in more detail.