But do general people know who is a scientist and who isn't? How do they find out?
It isn't by membership of a learned society, it isn't if they are working at a university. There is no simple way for a general person to know if somebody is a scientist.
My esteem of the Royal Society is lessened by the realisation that it admits not just scientists, but also mere CEOs who aren’t scientists themselves. Would Henry Ford be admitted? In my opinion that inflates the prestige of membership.
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