[chesley]

Having earned a PhD myself, in metallurgical engineering, and from having observed my teachers and fellow students, I can tell you that you can be pretty dumb in a lot of areas, and still get one. You do have to be able to learn calculus and differential equations, though.

But you really do have to be either obsessive about your subject matter, or as was my case, willing to grind it out regardless of inclinations to have some fun.

[exDemMom]

You do have to be able to learn calculus and differential equations, though.

Depending on the field, the calculus and differential equations may not be necessary. I haven't used calculus since undergraduate school, but I do use logarithmic functions quite extensively.

I'll agree about the obsessive part. At the beginning of grad school, one of the professors told our group that if we aren't absolutely passionate about the subject, we were just wasting everyone's time. He was so right about that...