
Trump Science advisor has a political science degree - drallison
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-rsquo-s-science-advisor-age-31-has-a-political-science-degree/
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drallison
Political science is interesting and important, but it's not science in the
same sense as physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, and so forth. The
President needs a team of skilled people advising him on issues related to
science and technology.

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dragonwriter
> Political science is interesting and important, but it's not science in the
> same sense as physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, and so forth.

Yes, it is (well, not like mathematics, which is absolutely not a science
though it is a tool frequently needed by science; political science is more
like biology than it is like physics or chemistry, though.)

That said, a bachelor's in political science (which, hey, I have too) with no
research background and no work history in any kind of scientific practice or,
more to the point, administrative/policy work with a focus in the sciences
(e.g., its not like he had a polisci degree and then spent a decade working
on, and eventually taking a senior role in, the staff of one of the science-
focussed committees in Congress) is hardly a qualification for a significant
role, much less the lead role, in the White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy.

But the bigger story is...

> The President needs a team of skilled people advising him on issues related
> to science and technology

Right, and this is where the article not only buries but actually _misses_
what should be the lede. The real issue is not that the OSTP has a poorly-
qualified _de facto_ lead because of a vacancy in the actual lead position;
the real issue is that the President's Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology, who are intended to be the broad, interdisciplinary "team of
skilled people advising [the President] on issues related to science and
technology" that interface with the rest of the White House through the OSTP,
is empty because Trump hasn't appointed anyone to the council.

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davelnewton
Hey, science is in the name, so it must count.

