A Political Scientist, Ctd

I think we just need to acknowledge that the political process is unappealing to scientists. Imagine two physicists, trying to determine the molecular mass of a particle. One thinks it is X and the other thinks it's Y. They do research, present findings, and the scientific community eventually settles on either X or Y or a later determined mass Z. In politics, the "goal" is to start with X and Y and end with (X+Y)/2 aka a middle ground compromise. That just doesn't work for scientists. Scientists believe that given enough facts there is one right answer to every question, and once the facts have been found the community will adopt that right answer.

It is my guess that scientists, engineers, and technical people in general who run for Congress do so not because they want to be politicians, but rather because they want to advance the cause of science funding.


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