Re: "The conversation"
"I've no wish to question Mr Oduntan's legal expertise, though I don't think it extends to mining or space exploration, subjects which The Register used to have real hands-on experts they could call on. Lewis is a journalist and not a subject matter expert, though possession of a STEM degree equips him to comment on environmental matters with somewhat more insight than 90% of the journos out there."
The mechanics of mining aren't really important when discussing whether the US government has the legal authority to allow companies to mine asteroids.
And Lewis Page has a STEM degree. OK, I have two of them, so presumably I'm twice as qualified as he is to talk about environmental matters than he is. If I tell you I think he's wrong about quite a bit of it, then what?
Possession of a STEM degree unfortunately doesn't make us oracles of wisdom about all kinds of things, much as we like to think so.