At Clemson I've seen honorary degrees given to very successful people who gave a lot of money to the university. The degree was usually given during general graduation and gives the successful business person a chance to speak to the graduating class.

Honestly, it never bothered me at all. It's one thing if you're saying "here, take this honorary degree and go work in a new profession"...but that's not what happens. Honorary degrees are given in an area where the person has already proven themselves successful...so it's really nothing at all like an "honorary electricians license".

I'm sure most colleges would love it if people decided to take the "easy route" and go, be extremely successful in a field, give a bunch of money to the university and get an honorary degree at some point.

Feynman, in this particular instance, is showboating more than anybody who's ever been honored. I've got an undergraduate degree and a masters degree. I worked hard for them. I've worked a hell of a lot harder to be successful in my field and if I get to a point where I've been so successful that I can dole out hundreds of thousands of dollars back to the school that they choose to honor me with another degree I'll appreciate that they thought I was worth recognizing...

But the amount of work involved to "get a degree" or even two degrees is TRIVIAL compared to the amount of work involved in actually being successful. Lots of people have degrees. Lots of people are not overly successful in their careers.

To that end, Feynman is showboating.