He never lied about having a PhD. He was in middle of his PhD program when he decided to drop out and join Google -- nowhere in his his LinkedIn page, did he falsely indicate that he finished his PhD.

Da'More must have completed at least course work and research required for master's, however, and Harvard gave him master's instead.

Until he was asked about it, Damore's LinkedIn "Education" section said "Harvard University / PhD, Systems Biology / 2011-2013".

After, he changed it to "Harvard University / Master of Science - MS, Systems Biology / 2011-2013".

The fact that his old profile said PhD, in place of the MS degree he actually had, does look to me like falsely indicating that he had a PhD.

http://www.businessinsider.com/james-damore-removes-phd-stud...

Sure, I see where the confusion might arise.

I guess most folks don't take Linkedin seriously -- my LinkedIn profile there is also outdated. When I dropped out of college to work a few years in industry, I indicated years I attended, relevant course works, and matriculation status in my resume, but, LinkedIn is just a social networking site for business -- and only recently it's transformed into a job search site. IMO, it's a stretch to say Damore's LinkedIn page was intended to mislead potential employer or the public.

source please (as in when he lied) ?

He previously had "PhD, Systems Biology" on his LinkedIn profile under his Harvard section - which I get that, to other academics, probably means "I was working on a PhD between these years," but sounds very much like "I have a PhD in Systems Biology from Harvard" to anyone from the outside. (I have an incomplete master's degree personally, and I'm careful to write "BS and coursework towards MEng" on my resume and not "MEng" for exactly this reason.)

I've seen the LinkedIn with my own eyes, but if you prefer to trust media sources: https://www.wired.com/story/james-damore-google-memo-harvard... http://www.businessinsider.com/james-damore-removes-phd-stud...

In my academic experience, saying "Harvard University, PhD, Systems Biology, 2011-2013" without having finished would be seen as dishonest. I have a PhD, but before I finished I always said "anticipated" or "expected". It's possible that Damore did this inadvertently, but it seems like too convenient of a mistake to leave out his MS degree, just say PhD, and leave the claim up for years.

In this instance I really do not trust media sources, there is too much disparity between the reporting and primary source. I'll accept your having seen that, but, with the same caveat you point out. Indeed that is indelicate.