tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976071487922527618.post3376889493424747926..comments2024-03-27T05:38:30.610+01:00Comments on Blank On The Map: Why don't more scientists enter politics?Sesh Nadathurhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07155102110438904961noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976071487922527618.post-25124755769657833092012-08-22T13:22:23.915+02:002012-08-22T13:22:23.915+02:00John: good luck, both with the Master's and th...John: good luck, both with the Master's and the political ambitions. Just bear in mind that it isn't <i>only</i> about confidence. Pay scrupulous attention to the facts and keep an open mind in interpreting them in order to maintain the difference between yourself and the smooth-talkers.Sesh Nadathurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07155102110438904961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976071487922527618.post-29017372857117280232012-08-21T23:40:35.258+02:002012-08-21T23:40:35.258+02:00"Certainly any scientist worth the name, if a..."Certainly any scientist worth the name, if active in a political party, should take a vocal stand against the abuse or misrepresentation of data, even if deployed in the interests of their party. To do so will, however, almost certainly be detrimental to their political prospects."<br /><br />There's a way around this: join a small (opposition) party, use your skills for attacks on politicians in another party when they misrepresent data, tell lies, etc..., and make a name for yourself by writing budget proposals (which will be acclaimed by some independent institute) and then climb to the top in your party (which shouldn't take too long in a small party), then the party follows your direction (especially if you recruit more scientists into it). Of course it depends on your system, in the UK you could maybe do this with the Lib Dems, in the US it would be impossible, but in many European continental systems it shouldn't be that hard.<br /><br />Of course you can also go the nasty route: become popular by explaining to the people in detail the ways other politicians are lying (on blogs, youtube videos, interviews, etc...), tell some anecdote about a political rival who couldn't even solve some simple math problem that's at the heart of some economic issue.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976071487922527618.post-91611691849444238132012-08-21T23:28:52.283+02:002012-08-21T23:28:52.283+02:00I think there are two reasons there are so few sci...I think there are two reasons there are so few scientists in politics: 1) many scientists despise the way politics works with airheads telling BS on live television and still winning elections, 2) to be a successful politician one has to be good-looking/well-dressed and groomed, extremely confident, smooth talker, outspoken, etc... <br /><br />I just got my Bsc in physics (and am going for a master's) and I noticed that many of my fellow students are not simply not confident enough to become politicians, are only outspoken when the topic is science (they'll talk politics occasionally, but only with other science students), they're also not smooth talkers. I think lawyers and businesspeople are more likely to be the snakeoil-salesman type.<br /><br />Anyway, I do plan on taking a shot at politics after I get my master's, I've always had an interest in history and foreign affairs equal to my passion for science and have spent the last year or so learning all I can about economics and finance (the math I learned and the systems i studied at uni help a lot), hopefully this will help me one day win an election against a lawyer who may be a smoother talker than I am but who I can destroy on the facts and figures front. Really, it's all about confidence, because that's all those lawyers and businessmen have.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976071487922527618.post-14669018058114507512012-08-12T15:02:26.313+02:002012-08-12T15:02:26.313+02:00Shaun: I look forward to reading more of your view...Shaun: I look forward to reading more of your views! Phillip: I agree such a person would probably no longer be a practising academic scientist. But they could come from and go back to other science-related professions. Also I think Shaun's original point was more to do with the background from which people in politics came and what skills they had acquired in getting there, rather than the narrower question of their immediate job description.Sesh Nadathurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07155102110438904961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976071487922527618.post-34190458917916879682012-08-06T21:23:24.312+02:002012-08-06T21:23:24.312+02:00If a scientist chooses to become a career politici...If a scientist chooses to become a career politician, he is no longer a scientist. A former scientist, perhaps. Examples: Angela Merkel (physicist, married to a chemist) and Oscar Lafontaine. If a scientist chooses to become an MP for one or two legislative periods, then it is probably impossible to do a good job as a politician and keep up enough so that he can return to his science job later.Phillip Helbighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067585245603436809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976071487922527618.post-33325738947055661702012-08-04T09:55:48.707+02:002012-08-04T09:55:48.707+02:00I'm glad you wrote this. Thanks for linking to...I'm glad you wrote this. Thanks for linking to my post as well. I found the arguments in this post quite convincing.<br /><br />I'm still left with one lingering concern. Scientists/experts can advise as much as they want and rise up the ranks in non-governmental institutes that are prominent in the community as much as they want, but, ultimately, the decision based on that advice is made by a politician and the budget for the prominent institute is set by a politician. That last step of the decision making chain is ceded to someone else. <br /><br />I don't mean to claim that scientists should be becoming ministers of justice, or joining their country's political parties to direct the party's policy on economics (at least no more so than any other individual, politically engaged, citizen); however, when it comes to science related policy (and education related policy) I think a scientist would be very competent and would make wiser decisions. You agree with this in your post - you simply state that getting elected/remaining a prominent member of a party when it does distasteful things is the complicated part. I suppose I think that we should fight through the distastefulness and take the dirt that will be thrown at us. I would also concede that the British system makes such an eventuality much more difficult. The First Past the Post, winner takes all, electoral system makes things incredibly partisan, which makes the idea of supporting your opponent's good ideas near-impossible. NZ changed from this system in the 90's and the partisanship has significantly dropped, though certainly not completely.<br /><br />I am a citizen of both countries, but only a member of a political party in NZ. So I definitely concede that the electoral system can make this much easier or much harder.<br /><br />However, as I wrote in my original post, I intend to address this in a more reasoned manner in the future (that original post was written under extenuating circumstances that made it necessarily rushed), so my comments here should also be seen as mere shooting from the hip.<br /><br />Thanks again for furthering the discussion.Shaun Hotchkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04832423210563130467noreply@blogger.com