It's not just the "technical details". It's the entire scientific outlook and scientific method! We all agree that building the fair and healthy societies that we want is a very hard task. So when we have hard tasks to do, we don't want to turn away from a scientific/engineering mentality, quite the opposite!

For example, we see that we have a lot of unfairness in society that we want to fix. Perhaps studying game theory and mathematical economics would allow you to contribute to human efforts to create incentive structures and legislation that will promote fairness. Presumably studying statistics and decision theory will help understand the challenges we face as a society needing to make decisions in the face of uncertainty and complex costs.

But studying these things is HARD; it requires effort over a long time span to climb the mountain. It does NOT help at all if young people are encouraged to mill around at the base of the mountain wittering about power structures and unfairness in academia.

Which part of that do you not find particularly significant? You don't think "talking about science" is an important thing for family members to be able do do? You think "science" sounds like a narrow, nerdy sort of conversation that one wouldn't need to have often? You don't think that arguing every time the topic comes up could damage relations with people that I want to get on with? You don't think that us mutually disrespecting each others positions could damage relations? I'm really at a loss for what goes on in your family; do enlighten us.