<i>&gt;...by which I mean the experiment itself without the &quot;fair&quot; elements</i><p>I don&#x27;t think the author or anyone else disagrees... the article was specifically about science <i>fairs</i>, not science projects generally. It&#x27;s right in the title. And reiterated in the portion of the text where the author juxtaposes their childhood experience with their child&#x27;s experience.<p><i>&gt; This isn&#x27;t someone being born with silver spoons in their mouth. This is regulation thoughtlessly applied with no thought about the costs.</i><p>It&#x27;s both (which gets to the heart of what I consider the most compelling arguments for decreased regulation). Whenever there are bureaucratic barriers, knowing the right sorts of people works wonders. You might even say it&#x27;s a privilege...