STEM backgrounds are much more common in other countries.
A good example is the PRC, where a clear majority of top officials have scientific or engineering backgrounds.
I recall reading that this was the result of PRC politicians picking up degrees because this helped them advance up the ladder? And that the degrees were mostly fake?
(Searching now I can't find anything on this, though.)
Has no one else mentioned this on LW yet?
Elizabeth Edwards has been elected as a New Hampshire State Rep, self-identifies as a Rationalist and explicitly mentions Less Wrong in her first post-election blog post.
Sorry if this is a repost