President Jimmy Carter’s Geek Credentials | StarTalk

Jimmy Carter came through town to this
institution to help us inaugurate the
new exhibit countdown to zero which is
all about parasites right yeah and the
eradication of parasites so I was like
knowing whether people like presidents
and other sort of people of high station
in life that are not otherwise scientist
I always want to know is there science
in them somewhere yeah so they carry
some kind of secret geek credentials
that we don’t otherwise know let’s find
out with President Jimmy Carter in my
freshman year in college I was the
laboratory assistant for the person who
taught astronomy so you had an early
sort of cosmic baptism well I was in the
Navy too so I learned how to navigate
you know we’re just from the stars
uh-huh uh-huh yeah now everyone’s just
got their GPS you know yeah I tell them
in my day that’s actually I was on the
ship with my family Christmas and a yeah
I asked the captain if we had a
sectional boy he said yes we have one
and it was in a glass case break glass
if necessary yeah an apocalyptic earth
that’s all you have time change
how would you say that your knowledge of
math or science in college in high
school has that influenced your your
politics not what I mean is your ability
to think about world problems well I was
an engineer then I was a nuclear
physicist I studied they I was sent in
charge of building the second atomic
submarine so I studied in physics
and then of course when I went into
politics being an engineer I you know I
planned things I made you think
differently from other politics I think
in a way you do you think differently
from a lawyer talk to somebody like that
and so most of Congress’s other lawyers
right so you’re really different we need
no engineer Paul Farmer yeah
you