Government call for science ‘weirdos’ prompts alert from specialists
Specialists have responded with surprise and alert to a bizarrely worded activity ad posted by a senior UK government consultant. The notification calls for researchers, mathematicians and "super-talented weirdos" to work for the prime minister and to help make "rapid progress with long-term problems", and refers to a few scientific papers.
Specialists, including the authors of a portion of the papers, welcome a focus on information-driven techniques and scientific skills from the top level of government, yet alert against distorting how science is applied to policymaking.
Dominic Cummings, a political strategist who is a chief special consultant to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, posted the advertisement on his website on 2 January. Cummings is known for his strong and sometimes co...