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'Well-deserved'

The (sometimes) superficial world of public praise

30 July 2025

In late 2020 I received a surprising invitation from somebody in the maths department at Sheffield Hallam University.  Would I like to become the university's "Mathematician in Residence"?  It wouldn't be an onerous role, the only obligation was that I speak at one public event each year at the university.  More informally they also hoped I'd support the university in various outreach and other mathematical endeavours.  I was chuffed to get the invitation, I have long associations with the city of Sheffield and was happy to accept. Soon afterwards I received confirmation plus a Sheffield Hallam library card.  

I think I'm still the Mathematician In Residence*, though the title is a little misleading, as there's no 'residence' involved.  The role has included doing a couple of talks at maths days, and also collaborating with the maths department in a couple of shows in theatres around Sheffield. It's been fun, and a nice collaboration, but I think all involved would agree that in the grand scheme of things it's not really a big deal.  

WELL-DESERVED?

But being appointed as a university's Mathematician In Residence does sound impressive.  When I mentioned it to friends, they were impressed.  "That's amazing, well done."  

I thought that my wider contacts might be amused to hear about it too so I posted the news on LinkedIn, and I was surprised at the scale of the reaction.  In no time there were about a hundred 'likes' and 'claps', with supportive comments.  Dotted among these were a handful that simply said: "Well-deserved".  I've noticed that phrase is used a LOT on social media.  I suppose it's the easiest thing to say when you want to react positively to somebody announcing an award or honour that they've received.  But was my new appointment 'well deserved'?  

I felt a bit sheepish after being lavished with praise for something that probably sounded grander than it actually was.  I also questioned why I had decided to post the news in the first place.  In my defence, it is nice to share personal news with friends and contacts, and letting the world know about a new role might create other opportunities ("Oh, maybe when you're in Sheffield you could come and do XYZ?").  But there's also a more selfish side to this, "Hey look at me, haven't I done well!".  When you do this on social media, it is inevitably an invitation for others to congratulate you.  

Before social media existed there wasn't the same opportunity to broadcast your achievements, and in return there was less pressure to offer public praise to other people. I don't want to be a curmudgeon about this, it's good to praise people for their efforts and achievements, but perhaps it's better doing it privately rather than on a public thread.  There are countless modest people who don't announce their successes in public, and most of them don't get honoured or recognised for their contributions anyway.  There's not much 'well-deserved' adulation for the meek, and to be fair, the meek are often happy that it stays that way.

It's tricky to discuss this topic without it coming across as either a humblebrag or a cynical dig, which is one reason why I will not be posting it on LinkedIn.  But if you happen to have read this far, please remember that if I ever announce something on social media that sounds like I'm asking for praise, please don't treat it that way.  And above all, please don't say: "well deserved".

* It might have lapsed in 2024, but nobody is particularly keeping track.