If someone doesn't have basic scientific literacy, they shouldn't be in a management position in an organisation dealing with scientific matters. Yet we see th

If someone doesn't have basic scientific literacy, they shouldn't be in a management position in an organisation dealing with scientific matters. Yet we see that happen on a regular basis and not only when it comes to science. We have corporations with managers who lack basic technical understanding of what their reports are telling them. We have politicians who lack the basic capacity to express themselves properly and coherently. Is it really that surprising at this point? The world has somehow become convinced that management is something that need not rely on the specific problem domain. It might irk us or mystify us to no end, but it works. I suspect that it works because it really is possible to be a good manager even if you don't have the basic understanding of your problem domain; you just have to be able to surround yourself with trustworthy people who do know the stuff and organize them properly. Sadly, most of managers who lack the basic understanding of the technical stuff also happen to be bad at management.