This article, in which Paul Nurse compares Elon Musk with Isaac Newton (“a nasty piece of work”), leaves me completely speechless.

Scimmia di Mare

SellaTheChemist

@bert_hubert Doing good science is not barrier to being "nasty" - Nurse says so himself. But I think having some moral compass and boundaries is important in an adult, let alone someone who holds such position of leadership and responsibility.

SellaTheChemist

@frank Thanks!

Disisdeguey🔻PalestineAction🇵🇸

@sellathechemist "academia should avoid making judgements about fellows"
"But he is a Nazi, sir!"
"Well.. (smiles and looks at the floor)"

Toni Aittoniemi

@sellathechemist Like nazi salutes and child porn? Okay there, buddy.

Antonio Patriarca

@sellathechemist There are many examples of terrible people making great contributions to the world, but their contributions doesn't cancel all the pain and damage they caused. But at least these people have actually did something themselves. All EM ever did was putting money in things he believed would give him power and money. He is just a rich fascist prick who likes to steal other people successes and see our society burn.

BashStKid

@sellathechemist Extremely disappointing. Hard not to speculate if the RS has sold its standards, and the standards of the fellows, for a few beads and trinkets, let alone thirty pieces of silver.

Graeme 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@sellathechemist The thing is, all musk is, is someone with money. He isn't a scientist, doesn't understand any science, and is anti science at times. So there is no reason fro him to be a member except kowtowing to money. The fact that he's a nasty misogynist fascist is just final insult.

LionelB

@sellathechemist

Of course Musk's $$$ have nothing to do with it. What a terribly vulgar suggestion.

Eggs now in different baskets.

@sellathechemist Perhaps time for the UK Royal Society to consider posthumous membership for Josef Mengele?

Flo

@sellathechemist next step would we to introduce a Royal Society Peace Price...

Nicovel0 🍉

@sellathechemist Nurse would have a point if Musk had made any advances himself, but all he has done is fund ventures. If that is the bar, then any education minister that funds research qualifies, and that is just a ridiculous proposition.

xs4me2

@sellathechemist

Musk has done nothing but steal and buy ideas with money from the mines his dad purchased. Tesla was not his idea, nor Twitter, and rockets in space neither.

AM💙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@sellathechemist
Wonder what Musk offered him to say that ????

Nick Radcliffe

@sellathechemist And in the Guardian: ‘I’m old, I’m white, I’m a man, so everything’s against me.’
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/11/paul-nurse-second-term-royal-society-president-interview

Extraordinary that he can think that.
Unbelievable that he would say it out loud.

Netraven

@sellathechemist pedo alert

John

@sellathechemist what if Isaac Newton hadn't published anything?

pookiesorcery

@sellathechemist is it surprising this article appears in the Financial Times? more than an article, it feels like propaganda... oops, advertising. which is which?

SellaTheChemist

@pookiesorcery Not at all. Michael Peel and Clive Cookson are excellent journalists. Michael has followed this story for quite a while and I have spoken to him several times in the past. The Grok thing is no doubt what prompted them to go and ask Nurse whether his position had shifted at all.

SellaTheChemist

@mrkeen In that case Robert Hooke might have had a happier life.