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by ceejayoz 3471 days ago
> NDT's political views could be informed by science though.

Sure, but those political views probably shouldn't be given extra weight just because he's a scientist unless they're directly related to his field.

As an example, he's had some misfires on biology: https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/708427052433678336
1 comments
peteretep 3471 days ago 

    > shouldn't be given extra
    > weight just because he's
    > a scientist
Don't they get him over the (admittedly fairly low) bar of "able to think rationaly"?
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buzzybee 3471 days ago
Only within topics where he has developed a sense of self-critique. It's commonplace for people to have a strong ability to be able to work through a situation rationally when it's not also tied to something in their emotions. And when someone has developed expertise they also have a common understanding with other experts. So NDT can speak with some authority on some science topics that he has directly studied. That does not make him a political scientist or philosopher, though, or even a competent student outside of his field.
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ceejayoz 3471 days ago
> Don't they get him over the (admittedly fairly low) bar of "able to think rationaly"

Not necessarily. http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nobel_disease

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