• geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    7
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    18 days ago

    Anyone calling themselves a “scientist”

    Biologist, astronomer, mathematicians, these are all valid professions.

    Scientist is not a profession.

    • TheRealKuni@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      18 days ago

      Scientist is the broader category though. If a square says “I’m a rectangle” they aren’t lying.

      • geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        18 days ago

        It is but no educated person qualifies themselves by that name as it means nothing.

        People seek to label themselves in the most accurate category not the broadest one.

        I am shape.

        • TheRealKuni@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          18 days ago

          It is but no educated person qualifies themselves by that name as it means nothing.

          People seek to label themselves in the most accurate category not the broadest one.

          I’m not sure that’s true. If you ask someone what they do for a living and they say, “I’m a doctor,” you don’t say, “I doubt it. A real doctor would say, ‘I’m a cardiovascular surgeon,’ or ‘I’m a pediatrician.’” We adjust our labels for our audience.

          I wouldn’t be surprised to find a biologist or a climatologist who might just say, “I’m a scientist” to a broad audience. Not that they couldn’t use the more accurate label, just that they don’t necessarily have to.