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> My guess is that very few "global leaders" are scientists Often more than you'd think. Merkel is a Physicist (where Thatcher was a Chemist), Ursula von der L
by peteretep 7y ago
> My guess is that very few "global leaders" are scientists
Often more than you'd think. Merkel is a Physicist (where Thatcher was a Chemist), Ursula von der Leyen is a licensed doctor (which almost counts?), and Abe Shinzō has a political science degree (which probably doesn't count :-D). That's 2.5 members of the G8ish.
- MiroF 7y agoAll have been out of academia for long enough that calling them "scientists" is a stretch
- tremon 7y agoBy that definition, not a single politician is a scientist because they all works in politics, not in academia.
- EForEndeavour 7y agoNo: GP said "out of academia long enough." Recent newcomers to politics with extensive backgrounds in professional science (for some definition of "recent" and "extensive") could still count.
- mlang23 7y agoThe question is, were they any good in their original profession, and why did they move away from it and go to politics?
- ekianjo 7y agoI think the point of their comment is that they had exposure to Science, which is almost as important as being a good scientist, because it alters how you think.
- mlang23 7y agoI disagree that plain "exposure" is worth anything. Let me bring up a sort of unrelated example. Whenever I meet someone that claims they have "some" experience with people with disabilities, it turns out they are worse then those people that dont claim that.
- EForEndeavour 7y ago"Some experience with people with disabilities" implies a far lower level of commitment and immersion than the "exposure to science" that's being discussed in this thread. If a politician claims they have a scientific background, but it turns out all they did was take gen bio in first year and follow a dozen popular scientists on Twitter, they'd be derided.
- lake99 7y agoI don't know the specifics of the people in the article, but examples like Cédric Villani demonstrate that it's not OK to be rash in one's judgment.