3 ms·

Politics in Germany is an apprenticeship trade that takes countless hours from adolescence onward. You do not have the time to become a successful scientist and

by thomasz 12y ago

Politics in Germany is an apprenticeship trade that takes countless hours from adolescence onward. You do not have the time to become a successful scientist and a successful politician in the same life.

SyneRyder 12y ago
I'm not sure if I missed the sarcasm, but Angela Merkel had a doctorate in quantum chemistry before she became the Chancellor of Germany: "She spent the final moribund decade of the G.D.R. as a quantum chemist at the East German Academy of Sciences, a gloomy research facility, across from a Stasi barracks, in southeastern Berlin. She co-authored a paper titled “Vibrational Properties of Surface Hydroxyls: Nonempirical Model Calculations Including Anharmonicities.” She was the only woman in the theoretical-chemistry section — a keen observer of others, intensely curious about the world." [1] http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/01/quiet-german http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/01/quiet-german
- thomasz 12y ago
  She's the exception that proves the rule. Her rise was made possible by the turmoil caused by the reunification that opened up that career path for highly educated people who kept their distance to the regime. [1] is another example with ... comparable ... charisma. But again, they are rare exceptions. [2] says that there are 27 members of parliament with a doctorate in engineering, 8 with a doctorate in biology, 7 in math, 2 chemistry, one in geology, and one in computer science. And I doubt that many of them have been working in science after the doctorate. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Platzeck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Platzeck [2] http://scienceblogs.de/frischer-wind/2011/03/21/wissenschaftler-im-bundestag-eine-crowdsourcingstatisik/ http://scienceblogs.de/frischer-wind/2011/03/21/wissenschaft...

3 ms·

Politics in Germany is an apprenticeship trade that takes countless hours from adolescence onward. You do not have the time to become a successful scientist and

by thomasz 12y ago

SyneRyder 12y ago
I'm not sure if I missed the sarcasm, but Angela Merkel had a doctorate in quantum chemistry before she became the Chancellor of Germany: "She spent the final moribund decade of the G.D.R. as a quantum chemist at the East German Academy of Sciences, a gloomy research facility, across from a Stasi barracks, in southeastern Berlin. She co-authored a paper titled “Vibrational Properties of Surface Hydroxyls: Nonempirical Model Calculations Including Anharmonicities.” She was the only woman in the theoretical-chemistry section — a keen observer of others, intensely curious about the world." [1] http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/01/quiet-german http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/01/quiet-german
- thomasz 12y ago
  She's the exception that proves the rule. Her rise was made possible by the turmoil caused by the reunification that opened up that career path for highly educated people who kept their distance to the regime. [1] is another example with ... comparable ... charisma. But again, they are rare exceptions. [2] says that there are 27 members of parliament with a doctorate in engineering, 8 with a doctorate in biology, 7 in math, 2 chemistry, one in geology, and one in computer science. And I doubt that many of them have been working in science after the doctorate. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Platzeck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Platzeck [2] http://scienceblogs.de/frischer-wind/2011/03/21/wissenschaftler-im-bundestag-eine-crowdsourcingstatisik/ http://scienceblogs.de/frischer-wind/2011/03/21/wissenschaft...