It's pretty clear the guy was pelted with admiration for his "scars".
I am reminded of the discovery program when some scientists who must have been on drugs decided on an experiment in the wilds of Alaska.
They acquired a contraption like a shark cage but totally enclosed and sealed shut.
With camera men in tow they went out to where polar bears had been sighted. They found a big bo-hunk of male bear and placed one of the scientists with a death wish inside, they welded the thing shut and left it in the snow to see how the bear would react.

not a good thing to do.
It was a good thing that the crew had devices to scare off the bear, one side of the cage had been torn apart and the scientist was nose to nose with a killing machine.
What good is a PHD when the holder has no common sense.?