Of my science friends, a few in chemistry, with and without PHD's, no they don't do science. At best they fetishize science pop culture. They are very good at their specializations though.
My tech friends do however do science, obviously a subset of my tech friends, for a lot it's also a means to an ends.
Those tech friends mess with chemistry, mess with electric experiments, stay up and watch the Higgs Boson announcements and rocket launches. They make rockets with 3D printers(fail). And they mess with computers in their own time.
I would say "There’s no such thing as a scientists anymore", where's the HN for scientists?
Ah. So when you say “do science” you mean “worldly and balanced”. Those people exist. Current culture no longer regiments it because it is less effective at making progress. If you’re wealthy, it’s a great way to keep yourself entertained. It’s akin to traveling. There is no doubt that it makes you interesting and valuable and expands your worldview, but it doesn’t actually do anything in terms of adding to the value of humanity.
Also, I strongly disagree that scientists are not “doing science”. They are: at an incredible pace on a tight budget. I consider myself more towards the wordly side and less on the specialized side, but I’m an engineer. I don’t need to dedicate my life to focusing in on a series of complicated fields because I don’t need to understand biological mechanisms. I can be one of the best people in my field and then spend my free time dabbling with other things. Saying that people who dedicate their life to actually pushing scientific progress forward are “not doing science” while the people who kick back and play with toys are is incorrect and disrespectful.
There isn't the "universal scientist" like a Leonardo da Vinci anymore as there are too much knowledge, but scientists who have broader impact do exist, while most science is in specialisation these days - we are so deep in many fields, that going deeper can't be done equally well in multiple fields.
My tech friends do however do science, obviously a subset of my tech friends, for a lot it's also a means to an ends.
Those tech friends mess with chemistry, mess with electric experiments, stay up and watch the Higgs Boson announcements and rocket launches. They make rockets with 3D printers(fail). And they mess with computers in their own time.
I would say "There’s no such thing as a scientists anymore", where's the HN for scientists?