Tom Bearden's PhD is Based on 'life experiences and knowledge'

Investigator probes the source of Tom Bearden's PhD, purports that it is not from a reputable University.  Bedini responds in Bearden's defense.  Bearden Confesses.

Coming Clean > Bearden Admits Ph.D. is based on 'Life Experiences - Jan. 14, 2003 letter published on his site.

Page Contents:
Investigative Report • Rebuttals by John Bedini • Comments from Eric Krieg • Bearden Admits • Comment: If Anyone Deserves it, Bearden Does

Tom Bearden

An Actual Solicitation Received by Email From: Qoiwiel Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 4:40 AM Subject: Life experience earns your degree! U N I V E R S I T Y D I P L O M A ' S Obtain a prosperous future, money earning power, and the admiration of all. Diplomas from prestigious non-accredited universities based on your present knowledge and life experience. No required tests, classes, books, or interviews. Bachelors, masters, MBA, and doctorate (PhD) diplomas available in the field of your choice. No one is turned down. Confidentiality assured. CALL NOW to receive your diploma within days!!! 1-773-604-1999 Call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including Sundays and holidays -

Investigative Report

Initial Report

[...]

I have heard that Bearden's undergraduate and MS degree are legit. The following is some pretty damning information someone sent me concerning Bearden's PhD:

Based on his own e-mail and the time frame (around 1999 to 2000) when he began claiming a Ph.D., Tom Bearden apparently [EDITOR'S NOTE: "apparently" is a speculative word, and denotes lack of definitive proof] received (or more accurately purchased) his bogus Ph.D. degree from Trinity College and University in the U.K. Until April 2000, you could find this diploma mill at http://www.trinityuni.org, after which it vanished from the web. Fortunately, the Wayback Machine web archive (http://www.archive.org) still contains the old web pages from Trinity College and University.

Looking at the home page on the Sept. 1, 1999 archive you can plainly see the statement "Degrees awarded based on prior experience and learning" for www.trinityuni.org. Clicking on the "Contact Us" button brings you to a page pointing to phone numbers and addresses in the U.K.

After April 10, 2000, Trinity College and University apparently "vanished" from the U.K. However, for more than a year afterwards the old web site redirected visitors to www.internetuniversity.cc, a site that sells pre-packaged e-learning courses under the name of Degree Consultants, Inc.

Now it gets interesting.  Who is the registrant for internetuniversity.cc?  It turns out to be:

Albert Wainright
2601 S. Minnesota Ave
Suite 105-103
Sioux Falls, SD 57105
US
605-330-8622
Email: albert@predacon.com

And just where is Mr. Wainright's address in Sioux Fall, SD?  It turns out to be Mail Boxes, Etc., Store #2125 (www.mbe.com).

Apparently Mr. Wainright has decided to concentrate his current efforts in the U.S., because in 1999 a "new" version of Trinity College and University appeared at www.trinity-college.edu.  Again, this new "university" promises "college credit for what you know."  And who is the registrant for www.trinity-college.edu?

Registrant:
    Trinity College & University
    2601 S. Minnesota Ave. Suite 105-103
    Sioux Falls, SD 57105
    UNITED STATES

(That's one busy Mail Boxes, Etc., isn't it?)

    Administrative Contact:
    Albert Wainright
    Private
    PO Box 7743
    Delray Beach, FL 33482
    UNITED STATES
    (561) 736-2963
    albert@predacon.com

Note that the "new" Trinity College and University has branches (i.e. P.O. boxes) in Pakistan, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Jordan, and Lebanon. Apparently they do a booming business selling fake degrees to people throughout the world. According to sources I've read, the U.K. address was just another P.O. box placed in Great Britain in order to take advantage of possible confusion between their diploma mill and Cambridge University's Trinity College.

Below are a few other web sites that discuss famous diploma mills, and cite Trinity College and University as a classic example.

www.degree.net  (An authoritative web site on distance education. You can find all sorts of gems about Trinity College and University here.)

www.degreefinders.com/news.html  (There's a link to a Trinity "graduate" who posted his 4,224 word doctoral dissertation on the web.  Unfortunately, the dissertation now seems to be gone.)

http://www.adn.com/24hour/nation/story/600189p-4642228c.html

http://courses.dsu.edu/cet749/unit3.htm  (This story tells how South Dakota became a haven for diploma mills, and how Trinity College and University created its own accreditation agency to make itself look more legitimate.)

http://www.thisismoney.com/20011125/si40887.html  (This article discusses the original Trinity College and University in the U.K. before it was shut down.)

Finally, it's important to note that many legitimate universities have the word "Trinity" in their names. Legitimate Ph.D. degrees granted by such institutions require actual graduate course credits, at least one year of residency at the university itself, and an oral defense of a dissertation in front of a qualified faculty examination committee.

On the other hand, there isn't a legitimate university in the U.S. or the U.K. that will give a person a doctorate based on "lifetime achievement" and the submission of a dissertation by mail, particularly when that person doesn't even live in the same country!

Rebuttal by John Bedini

With intermediary questions/comments by Sterling Allan (and a few editorial corrections).

From: <john1@icehouse.net>
To: "Sterling D. Allan, PerenTech.com" <sterlingda@perentech.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 10:33 AM
Subject: Re: article attached

[...]
Sterling,

I'm not upset with you about what you did [posting the background info on Bearden's Ph.D.]. This is not my point. None of these people have done the work Thomas Bearden has done. I view it this way, Tesla's degrees were all given to him because of the work he did in electrical science.

Well Thomas Bearden is no different!!.

What is upsetting here is that "none" of the these "people" accusing Tom of this, has "not" [sic] done one bit of work, physical or mental; they would not even know where to begin.  [...]

John

John,

I agree with your sentiment.  There is no doubt Bearden is deserving of an advance degree -- far more than most who hold one.

It's the way he went about it that is disappointing to me.  It tells me that the opinion of the world was so important to him that he underwent a flimsy shortcut to get the title that impresses the world.  I think this will backfire on him because the world is also particular about how one goes about getting that degree.  Whether or not he deserves it is not as important to the world.  They want to know that he jumped through the right hoops; and in this case, he did not.  It smacks of a bubble-gum machine degree.

I actually would have preferred that he not have received the degree.  It provides a certain amount of satisfaction that someone so brilliant -- far beyond the vast majority of Ph.D.s -- would be able to accomplish so much minus that degree.  It certainly happens in many cases, and makes a point about how we overinflate the value of having that piece of paper.

My dad is a perfect illustration of that phenomenon.  He never did get his Ph.D., but in his professional career he was constantly providing lectures to rooms full of Ph.D.s from the most prestigious institutions on earth.  He is commonly referred to as "Mr. Time" (www.allanstime.com), and is currently (back-burner) writing a definitive book for Willey and Sons on the subject.

Sterling

p.s. I've taken the liberty of posted our correspondence (relevant excerpts) on the same page where the Bearden Ph.D. documentation is presented; as a rebuttal to the derogatory sentiment.

Comments from Eric Krieg

Sterling,

   I appreciate your patience.  What I have said to John is "what specifically are you saying is wrong?" and "I've always been happy to run rebuttals from either side on any of my pages.  I want to make people think, offer the information , and trust people to draw their own conclusions".  A counter response starting out along the lines of "he is my friend" is not facts, it is possible evidence of bias.  I have had respectful erudite emails from Bearden, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a fake PhD and it doesn't mean his theory is correct or that anyone has made a really working MEG.   I want to get at the bottom of the truth question.  Truth to me is more important than dogma, personality cults or threats of oppression.  I have had people threaten to sue me, beat me up, send me to jail or totally censor my work.  I've been kicked off email lists, had some of my email lists shut down, had my ISP get complaints, had smear campaigns against me, etc.  I believe there is suppression against free energy information only because I have experienced it myself.  If John becomes one new person out to get me, I can't sell out my life's commitment to truth.  I encourage you to at least present a link to the page skeptical of Bearden at http://www.phact.org/e/z/bearden.htm and to also link to any rebuttal page against mine and link to Bearden's site. [...]  If the pro Bearden people are saying that Trinity is a real University, well I already have evidence to the contrary. [...]

thanks,

Eric

Sterling,

   you are right, if it turns out that Trinity is a real school that is reputable - I will gladly make a humble apology to John, my list, page readers, Bearden and the trustees of Trinity. 

  If the information is correct, then John should openly admit it as well.  In the world of academia, faking credentials is not looked upon very well.  Do note that I have always granted that Bearden does have the other degrees. [...]

Eric

PS: feel free to openly post my responses

I pretty much see you being completely fair and John being evasive, and throwing out smoke.  Any legitimate educated person is always happy to give their credentials.  I have a BS Electrical Engineering degree from Lafayette college class of 1980 - anyone is welcome to check that out.  There is no reason to deny giving out such information. [...]

Eric

[...] Bearden told me his PhD is from Trinity, the sites listed clearly describe Trinity as a sham organization - what more do we need ?  video tape of Bearden talking to trinity people and writing out the check?   The burden of proof should obviously be Bearden addressing the issue and clearly identifying where his PhD is from and perhaps why he feels it is legit. [..]

Bearden Admits 'Life Experiences' Basis of Degree

http://www.cheniere.org/correspondence/011403.htm

Subject: RE: Tom Beardens PhD...
Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 12:11:07 -0600

Tony,

Yes, I was awarded the Ph.D. for life experience and for life accomplishment (from Trinity College - Ed.), and I make no attempt to conceal it. I was awarded the Legion of Merit in Vietnam for similar reasons. If that makes it "bogus", so be it. I was also listed in Who's Who in Aviation and Aerospace, 1983, National Aeronautical Institute. I don't know what others may have done, but to obtain the doctorate for experience, I first was required to prepare a formal Ph.D. thesis, as is normal, and do several months of additional work for it. As might be expected, my thesis advanced the first legitimate theory of COP>1.0 EM systems, freely extracting energy from the vacuum. It also contained the first formal correction to Aristotelian logic since Aristotle advanced it. My M.S. in nuclear engineering was awarded by Georgia Tech under full rigor, as was my B.S. in mathematics from what is today Northeast Louisiana University. Those are the credentials, and one can take it or leave it.

One might point out that Heaviside --- whose equations are studied in university as "Maxwell's equations", and who originated some powerful mathematical methods as well --- never even attended university but was totally self-taught. Today, a very great many people for more than a century have happily used Heaviside's work, not really caring whether he had a Ph.D. or not.

The real judge is what a fellow does and the worth or non-worth of it. My book, Energy from the Vacuum, speaks for itself. My years of work in scalar interferometry --- trying desperately to get this nation to develop adequate defenses --- has in fact now been verified, both experimentally and theoretically, and scalar interferometry was the basis for Secretary of Defense Cohen's public statement in 1997 at a conference in Athens, Georgia --- the first confirmation of those weapons by a high U.S. government official. We do have adequate defenses today, at least a little bit as a result of some of my own hard work in convincing the system. Unfortunately the energetics weapons have now spread to even more powerful quantum potential weapons and negative energy EMP, so my weapons efforts are still continuing in that respect. Defending this nation comes first; after that comes the rest.

I'm quite willing to let that be the final arbiter.

Best wishes,

Tom

---

Comment: If Anyone Deserves it, Bearden Does

From: mcriggs

To: sterlingda@perentech.com

Sent: Friday, January 31, 2003 3:18 PM

Dear Sterling,

 

I envy those with enough time to delve into and discuss whether Dr. Bearden received a doctorate, and from where.  I never had that luxury myself, but if you'll grant me a moment, I would like to address the idea of a "diploma mill."

 

While one may not agree with me, the definition of a diploma mill is an educational facility where one meets minimal, structured, educational requirements in order to acquire a degree.  While I do not wish to belittle the efforts of those who have gone through the prescribed educational processes required, by say, the top 100 universities, I would say that based on the end result, our top-rated universities definitely meet the definition of diploma mills, including any "top" university you wish to select.  Let me explain why I would say this.

 

Modern-day academia, (and thus the university system)  is an unbroken loop of self-regulating, self-perpetuating, self-promoting, ego-centric elitists where the prime qualifications for maintaining "impeccable credentials" is to hold the faith, retain those concepts learned by rote, and be able to repeat them as taught.  And I'm supposed to be impressed?  Keep in mind, once you attain that Ph.D, you don't have to accomplish one single thing, and you don't have to make any contribution in understanding our world in order to be considered one of the establishment elite.   Within academia, it is sufficient to theorize some minor facet of a known and familiar science, do some tests, document the same, and then,( and this is the key element,) do whatever it takes to get your results published.  After all, publication to physicists and scientists is the ultimate goal.  Never mind that your obscure work will never be read, never mind that your determinations are meaningless.  Just get published.  Ride the current and don't make waves.  And this approach is meaningful and superior?

 

The only thing that should matter to anyone is the end result.  The result of our newly graduating Ph.D's is that they have the basics, but until one may contribute to our collective knowledge, or successfully accomplish a breakthrough, then all they have done is spend time in a specified regimen.

 

Our current educational system is stagnant, and is turning out stagnancy.   That is why we are doing the same old things with brighter, newer equipment.

 

If today, Nicola Tesla were to manifest himself, he would be welcome at any university in the world, and in a teaching position.  His credentials?  No Ph.D.  Yet he knew far more than his contemporaries, including those that would carry a Ph.D. behind their names today.  In his own time, he stated to Einstein his disagreement on certain elements of Einstein's theory, the results of the Michaleson and Morley experiment, Max Planck, and Neils Bohr.  His reasoning?  "I think they are relying too much on theories and equations, and not enough on experimentation. . . . Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments and they wander through equation after equation and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality."   As Tesla told Einstein, "I base my theories upon experiments combined with mathematical formulae, instead of experimentation alone, like Thomas Edison, or mathematics alone, which Herr Einstein seems to prefer."

 

And speaking of Einstein.  He was not a physicist when he turned out his most important work.  He worked in a patent office as a clerk.  Credentials?  They certainly wouldn't meet muster in what the academic elite would require, but that wouldn't change the reality of his unique, and in some area, his superior knowledge. 

 

Again, results.  State of being.  Acquisition and retention of knowledge.   Is Dr. Bearden's state of mind equal or even far superior to those Ph.D's that are being churned out of our university system today?  Let me answer it this way.  Sterling Allan, Eric Krieg, or any others of his detractors could only get into this history books if they accomplished something spectacular, such as committed a mass murder.  But you can rest assured that Dr. Tom Bearden in the decades, and centuries to come will be remembered and reflected on as a torch bearer of new knowledge in a number of scientific fields. 

 

Why contact John Bedini in these matters?  And why were John's replies a bit short?  I can tell you.  John has been exposed to such monumental elements of triviality and group stupidity, that if he ever had any patience with folks of such ilk, he's certainly lost it by now.  Here's the secret to John Bedini.  He doesn't have time for such meaningless triviality.  John doesn't talk.  John does.  John has a big heart, and a mind that is a well-spring of knowledge.  But his patience for stupidity and foolish endeavors which are nothing short of manifestations of jealous ignorance is zero.

 

In the jungles of Viet Nam, I met a gentleman of minor royalty who was serving in the United States army as a PFC.  His proper title was "Sir ______.  The difference between he and I?  I slept in this  _____hole here, and he slept in a _____hole over there.

 

Where you get your degree or how really shouldn't be the defining criteria, but what you do with your knowledge through accomplishment is what really counts at the end of the day.  I can show you Ph.D's from the nation's most prestigious schools who couldn't jump-start a car.   To hold a Ph.D from MIT and to have done little with it beyond hang it on a wall is more meaningful than what Dr. Bearden has done?

 

I dare say that if you brought in five physicists and engineers from each of the top 100 universities, for a total of 500  of the cream of physicists and  EM engineers, and let John and Dr. Bearden teach them for one week, they would learn more about physics and EM theory and applications than they received in their entire educational process. 

 

And you are concerned with credentials?  Do as you wish.  Others have their Ph.D's.  Dr. Bearden has his.  And you would know it was well-earned if you would spend just a few hours in his presence.  Absolutely illuminating.  His unique specialty is what psychologists call "abstract conceptualization."  He has the unique ability to disassemble a new discovery or technology, and then determine what the operational concepts are which are at work.  And the funny thing is, all his determinations are verifiable from selectively obscure determinations made by others.  Dr. Bearden is an excellent example of a person who through education, independent learning, bench time, theory and application, as well as exposure and experiences, have earned the title and honor of being called, "Doctor." 

 

While Dr. Bearden has repeatedly asked me to call him Tom, I'll keep addressing him as Dr. Bearden, as there could be no other appropriate address.. 

 

Thank you for your time,

 

Michael Riggs

See also

• Cheniere.org - Bearden's Website
• Energy from the Vacuum: Concepts and Principles - Review of Tom Bearden's book
• A skeptical look at the MEG claims of Thomas Bearden - by Erik Kreig
• Directory of Free Energy Sites and Resources

Page posted Jan. 13, 2003
Last updated June 13, 2008