Offline: Dangerous oligarchies

Abstract

Are scientists with West Country accents trustworthy? According to John Beddington, the UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, people certainly think they are. He has a distinctive regional brogue, which he deployed to good effect at the launch of the Academy of Medical Sciences' new strategy in London last week. The Beddington style is refreshingly direct. On homoeopathy: “we will continue to be rather rude and unpleasant about it”. On the UK Government's commitment to science: “we don't spend as much as we should on research”. On the calibre of British science compared with other nations: “we are way out in front”. On creating the next generation of scientific talent in Britain: this is still only a “work in progress”. On one of science's greatest weaknesses: “spurious confidence”. And his warning to scientists not to be politically naive: if science is to command the support of government, scientists will have to prove that their research contributes to economic growth. John Tooke, the new President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, also made an important promise—that the Academy would “avoid at all costs simply becoming a part of the medical establishment”.