The bottom line is this: Picard could have stayed in the command division as a lower-ranking conn officer (flight controller), whom he used to be in his youth. Flight controllers in TNG wore red uniforms and were part of the command division. However, the episode made it a point to change Picard's division to sciences. That's not reading "too deep" into it, that's a direct message of Starfleet's view on its divisions.
Starfleet's View on Its Sciences Division and the Star Trek Symbol
- Thread starter Baxten
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But didn't he want to go from a Science peon to an Engineering peon in the episode?
No, it's not. You just want it to be.
Advancement in any job, in the real world or in Star Trek, is predicated on diversifying ones resumé. Had Picard been in Command Division, he likely would have requested a transfer to Astrophysics in order to diversify his service record and show that he had capabilities in more than one field. That's why he wanted to transfer to Engineering. It had nothing to do with him being in Sciences, and everything with his desire to show that he had potential in multiple fields.
Additionally, if Picard held such a contempt for science, why would he consider taking a vacation at the Astrophysics Center on Icor IX to attend a symposium on rogue star clusters. He literally wanted to spend his free time studying science.
Also, speaking of Flight Controllers... Tom Paris earned a degree in Astrophysics at Starfleet Academy. Command Division officers are literally trained scientists. Case closed.
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Keep in mind that, at the time, Picard is in command of a flagship, so he's expected to reflect the majority view of Starfleet or he would not be commanding a flagship. He was also meant to be the star of the show and someone the audience was expected to root for. In other words, he was Starfleet's mouthpiece or spokesperson in TNG.
If this is all attributed to Picard's personal views, then you must attribute his line of, "Starfleet is not a military organization. Its purpose is exploration." to his personal views as well. And the same goes for Scotty's line of, "The Federation, sir, Starfleet. We are not a military agency." Just their personal views, not Starfleet's. You might say no one contested it, well, Riker didn't contest Picard's story at the end of the episode either. He even agreed it was hell. You can't have it both ways. 
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
DAVID: I've tried to tell you before. Scientists have always been pawns of the military [Starfleet].
I'm saying what I've already said before: this example clearly demonstrates how Starfleet views its divisions:
- Command (includes Starfleet Tactical): most respected, "lofty goals" career.
- Engineering and Security: fairly respected (middle of the road).
- Sciences: least respected, "dreary" and "tedious" job.
Picard personally thought his life in Tapestry was a dead end job. He was how old and at what rank in that alternate reality? Picard wanted to excel as quickly and as high as he could with the amount of years he had left (for sake of argument, let's say Picard was at the mid-point of his career). Now, real world Picard might have had aspirations of being a diplomat or ambassador or something after he left Starfleet. Maybe he wanted to be a teacher at the Academy. Who knows. The point is this Tapestry version of Picard was stuck much further back on the career path at this stage in life than Picard wanted to be.
Picard thought engineering or command or tactical was his best option moving forward. Picard the individual does not speak for Starfleet as a whole.
If this is all attributed to Picard's personal views, then you must attribute his line of, "Starfleet is not a military organization. Its purpose is exploration." to his personal views as well. And the same goes for Scotty's line of, "The Federation, sir, Starfleet. We are not a military agency." Just their personal views, not Starfleet's. You might say no one contested it, well, Riker didn't contest Picard's story at the end of the episode either. He even agreed it was hell. You can't have it both ways.
My perception is that Star Trek presents a contempt for the military. David had contempt for the military. His viewpoint was, however, biased. We do not know what influences he had growing up in regards his perception of Starfleet. He may have been unaware of the full extent of Starfleet's scientific and exploration opportunities. He may have been caught up in the cultural battles between civilian science and Starfleet science.
They locked that last topic for going round in circles. There is no logic in restarting the same conversation under a new title and expecting a different result.
David Marcus was influenced by his mother's perception of his (unknowing) father's career choice.
Remember that Riker and Troi in Ten Forward agreed with Picard's assessment. And in case someone argues that they were not real, the real Riker at the end of the episode, having heard Picard's detailed story, agreed that it was hell and did not contest it.
You are missing the point. Even with the supposed contempt for military, Starfleet clearly favors its command division over others, and does not look favorably at its sciences division. And you are only speculating about David Marcus' bias. His assessment might very well be justified.
If you believe it's the same topic, then you are in the wrong thread. Otherwise, see above.
Navigation requires a lot of math too, but that doesn't mean that they are all mathematicians.
This is total nonsense. Spock, perhaps the most respected and popular character in Star Trek history is both science officer and first officer. Two thirds of the main trio TOS in fact, were science division. Star Trek fetishises logic and reason to the point they created a whole species dedicated to it and made them founding members of the Federation. TNG continued the tradition of focusing on science officers with Data, who only lost his blue shirt because of the makeup tests. DS9 made the captain's best friend, and the wise voice of reason, as well as the 'alien babe', a science officer. Voyager created it's own alien babe character to appeal to the audience and made her logical, scientific and put her in an astrometrics lab. They also focused heavily on a doctor, as did the original series. ENT did the same with one of their main characters. Discovery has already included an astrophysicist and a fungus expert!
Tapestry was about the fact that Alt-Picard was a Lieutenant carrying memos to superiors from a back office on the Enterprise, not a treatise on the usefulness of the science division. That is an interpretation so bizarre I really don't know how you came up with it.
If a navigator has a degree in mathematics, then yes... he or she would be a mathematician by training. Tom Paris is a pilot by profession, and an astrophysicist by training.
Real world example: I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatrical Stage Lighting, and also a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. I also have a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dramaturgy. Additionally, I hold a Commercial Pilot Certificate (Airplane Single & Multiengine Land; Instrument Airplane). By profession I am a production manager for a repertory theatre company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. By training, I am all of the previously listed things. People can, and do, wear many different hats. Especially in Starfleet.
Best that I can discern is that he just wants Starfleet to be Space Team Six.
Did I imply they didn't?
My larger point is that training does mean they hold a degree, and that piloting a starship requires the application of multiple disciplines.
Winner! We should probably apply that to whenever a character makes a blanket statement.
Which is why Worf getting cut off mid sentence by Picard isn't a thing
