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As someone with a math major/engineering MS, I was of course pleased to hear Barak say this. But of course, our president himself has a law degree. Most of th
by geebee 18y ago
As someone with a math major/engineering MS, I was of course pleased to hear Barak say this. But of course, our president himself has a law degree. Most of the politicians who want Americans to become engineers are lawyers themselves.
I remember an absolutely fantastic Onion article titled "Report: 98 Percent Of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation For Others"
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/report_98_percent_of_u_s_commuters http://www.theonion.com/content/news/report_98_percent_of_u_...
I suspect that 98% of lawyer/politicians favor engineering careers - for others.
- sketerpot 18y agoIf most politicians who want Americans to become engineers are lawyers then it's because most politicians are lawyers (or something similar). Selection bias. This explanation is simple and non-malicious.
- geebee 18y agoI'm responding to this very late, unfortunately. But maybe the preponderance of lawyers in American politics is part of the problem. Engineering or science is a far more common background among national leaders in Europe and Asia - and this may turn out to provide a massive competitive advantage over the US in the future. Thomas Friedman in "the world is flat" mentions this possibility a few times. I voted for Barak, and I'm happy to have him as my president. But actions speak a lot louder than words. If this immensely popular president is a lawyer who encourages kids to be engineers, the kids will who admire him will want to become lawyers who encourage people to be engineers.