Engineers Quotes
While this quotation is hyperbole, it is the case that most engineers and scientists have difficulty communicating with scientifically illiterate people about science and technology. Most politicians themselves are scientifically illiterate and as the world becomes more and more dependent on science, the gap becomes more serious.
Also published in What Do You Care What Other People Think, 1988. This was his last publication. He realized that NASA was under so much political and public relations pressure, that important science issues could not be faced squarely. So he wrote his own appendix to the report which was embarrassing to some of the administrators and contractors but was really appreciated by almost all of the scientists and engineers.
He fought in Algeria and other counterinsurgencies and then studied them. He wrote the classic book on counterinsurgency warfare. After all the mistakes the U. S. made after the successful invasion of Iraq, his book and doctrine were very influential in the change in strategy and tactics that turned the Iraq War in our favor.
This is also true of legislation and government programs and the politicians behave like engineers.
