[nonbel]

> "There is a general STEM push that is sweeping many of the kids up."

This is awful for science though. It is much better for it to be thought of a "nerdy" thing so people who aren't really interested in it stay away.

EDIT:

I'd like to hear from a downvoter who has tried to convince someone who actually doesnt care too much about science that they should test their own hypothesis rather than a strawman hypothesis when the latter gets them more rewards. It is infuriating, and you do not want them informing doctors/etc on how to advise you:

"We are quite in danger of sending highly trained and highly intelligent young men out into the world with tables of erroneous numbers under their arms, and with a dense fog in the place where their brains ought to be. In this century, of course, they will be working on guided missiles and advising the medical profession on the control of disease, and there is no limit to the extent to which they could impede every sort of national effort." Fisher, R N (1958). "The Nature of Probability". Centennial Review. 2: 261–274. http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/maths/histstat/fisher272.pdf