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Scientists - not just CS, but biologists, chemists, etc. - are not in elected leadership positions very much. I agree they are frequently not willing to represe

Scientists - not just CS, but biologists, chemists, etc. - are not in elected leadership positions very much. I agree they are frequently not willing to represent. But again - why? A few opinions: * scientists (computer, life, or otherwise) do not think their talents are best used in making public policy. There are so many other ways those talents and intelligence could be used * perhaps worse pay (though the benefits, and opportunity for jobs after elected office, are certainly stellar) * the process seems toxic compared to other ways to make a living The first and last bullets seem the most important to me. Business and academia have some similarities with government, since in both cases they involve: * writing, with the intent to better the world somehow * raising money, whether from selling a product, grants, or donors * using evidence to decide what to do next The day-to-day work seems reasonably desirable, but the way that work must be done is, I think, the dealbreaker for many scientists. At a company, everyone you work with on a daily basis is generally in step with the overall vision. Some teammates may differ on details - which language or data store, how to architect something - but the goal of the finished solution is mostly in agreement. In government, there are at least two groups of people who publicly profess to have VERY different ideas about what the finished solution should accomplish. And even if you get elected on the team you think has the best goals, you may no get to work towards those goals directly, since the other team might have the majority of seats. I have so many more thoughts on this, but I'll save that for a blog post. I'm curious what others think of this though.

EvgeniyZh 6y ago
Bad pay + toxic process + bad usage of talents. Are you sure you are not talking about academy? (half joking)
joyeuse6701 6y ago
I remember reading somewhere that the Chinese government is full of engineers/STEM degree holders, Physics, Civil, etc as opposed to lawyers in the U.S. Assuming that's true, it makes sense from a 30,000ft level. CCP requires leaders to meet some socio-economic goal and that requires competency and a loose ability to apply scientific methodology. In the U.S. it's much more important to argue your case, sound good and wiggle your way through the rules of law to get your way. The above is an obviously charitable view of the Chinese system, but I can't help but feel that the U.S. has become too comfortable and apart from reality which this pandemic is now checking us for.
- mywittyname 6y ago
  It's likely that these same people would have studied political science, law, or economics had they been born Americans. I think a healthy amount of this is inertia. Future Western bureaucrats tend to study those fields because current Western bureaucrats tend to have degrees in those fields. So when prospects are researching how to break into said field, they discover that those majors are a proven means of achieving that goal.
- rrryougi 6y ago
  I'm afraid the good old day of engineer/STEM leadership in CCP has long gone due to Culture Revolution. Most of the current CCP leaders grew up during that time, when the education system of the whole country was basically destroyed. As a result, the education level of the current Politburo members is shockingly low. For example, Xi Jinping barely finished his middle school, then went to Tsinghua as a Worker-Peasant-Soldier student[1]. Apparently he was not well-educated, as he makes so many illiterate mistakes [2] in public speeches. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker-Peasant-Soldier_student https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker-Peasant-Soldier_stude... [2] https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AF%B9%E4%B9%A0%E8%BF%91%E5%B9%B3%E7%9A%84%E4%BA%89%E8%AE%AE#%E7%94%A8%E8%AF%8D%E4%BA%89%E8%AE%AE https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AF%B9%E4%B9%A0%E8%BF%91%...
kazinator 6y ago
An honest scientist abhors it, but those who fudge results have their place in politics.
rocqua 6y ago
Another relevant factor I think, is the kind of challenges you must overcome in politics vs technology. A scientist probably finds the challenges to overcome in technology much more intellectually stimulating than she finds the challenges in politics. Which makes sense because people tend to get good at things they enjoy, and scientists need to get good at overcoming challenges much like technological challenges.
- karmelapple 6y ago
  Bingo. Thanks for writing this more clearly and succinctly than I could! Even though making laws or doing science both require writing and documentation, the challenge in a lab or on a computer is very different than coalition building amongst hundreds of very different people.

EvgeniyZh 6y ago

Bad pay + toxic process + bad usage of talents. Are you sure you are not talking about academy? (half joking)

joyeuse6701 6y ago

I remember reading somewhere that the Chinese government is full of engineers/STEM degree holders, Physics, Civil, etc as opposed to lawyers in the U.S. Assuming that's true, it makes sense from a 30,000ft level. CCP requires leaders to meet some socio-economic goal and that requires competency and a loose ability to apply scientific methodology. In the U.S. it's much more important to argue your case, sound good and wiggle your way through the rules of law to get your way. The above is an obviously charitable view of the Chinese system, but I can't help but feel that the U.S. has become too comfortable and apart from reality which this pandemic is now checking us for.

mywittyname 6y ago
It's likely that these same people would have studied political science, law, or economics had they been born Americans. I think a healthy amount of this is inertia. Future Western bureaucrats tend to study those fields because current Western bureaucrats tend to have degrees in those fields. So when prospects are researching how to break into said field, they discover that those majors are a proven means of achieving that goal.
rrryougi 6y ago
I'm afraid the good old day of engineer/STEM leadership in CCP has long gone due to Culture Revolution. Most of the current CCP leaders grew up during that time, when the education system of the whole country was basically destroyed. As a result, the education level of the current Politburo members is shockingly low. For example, Xi Jinping barely finished his middle school, then went to Tsinghua as a Worker-Peasant-Soldier student[1]. Apparently he was not well-educated, as he makes so many illiterate mistakes [2] in public speeches. [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker-Peasant-Soldier_student https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worker-Peasant-Soldier_stude... [2] https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AF%B9%E4%B9%A0%E8%BF%91%E5%B9%B3%E7%9A%84%E4%BA%89%E8%AE%AE#%E7%94%A8%E8%AF%8D%E4%BA%89%E8%AE%AE https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AF%B9%E4%B9%A0%E8%BF%91%...

kazinator 6y ago

An honest scientist abhors it, but those who fudge results have their place in politics.

rocqua 6y ago

Another relevant factor I think, is the kind of challenges you must overcome in politics vs technology. A scientist probably finds the challenges to overcome in technology much more intellectually stimulating than she finds the challenges in politics. Which makes sense because people tend to get good at things they enjoy, and scientists need to get good at overcoming challenges much like technological challenges.

karmelapple 6y ago
Bingo. Thanks for writing this more clearly and succinctly than I could! Even though making laws or doing science both require writing and documentation, the challenge in a lab or on a computer is very different than coalition building amongst hundreds of very different people.