Andrew Montford provides a straightforward and unembellished chronology of the perversion not only of The Royal Society but of science itself, wherein the legitimate role of science as a powerful mode of inquiry is replaced by the pretence of science to a position of political authority. --Richard Lindzen (MIT), Foreword to Andrew Montford's Nullius in Verba:
The Royal Society and Climate Change
For 300 years after its foundation, the Royal Society adopted a position of aloofness from political debates, refusing to become embroiled in the controversies of the day. This position was encapsulated in the Society’s journal, The Philosophical Transactions, which carried a notice that ‘It is neither necessary nor desirable for the Society to give an official ruling on scientific issues, for these are settled far more conclusively in the laboratory than in the committee room’.... The continuing desire of the Royal Society’s leadership to engage in political controversies represents a serious ongoing risk to the Society’s reputation and an abandonment of its principles. –Andrew Montford,
Nullius in Verba: The Royal Society and Climate Change
The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) is calling on the Royal Society to restore a culture of open-mindedness and balanced assessment of climate science and climate policy. In a new GWPF report, written by science author Andrew Montford, the Royal Society is urged to ensure that genuine controversies are reflected in its public debates and reports and that the full range of reputable scientific views are being considered. --
The Global Warming Policy Foundation, 9 February 2012
One might ask: how did this noble organization venture so far from its chartered roots of ‘withstanding the domination of authority‘ to one with an acquired mandate of providing ‘authoritative scientific advice’? The answer to this question lies in a very timely and well-written report, from the U.K.’s Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), entitled Nullius in Verba: The Royal Society and Climate Change. But … nullius in verba (least of all mine!)… read the whole report. At 40 pages, it is not a long read, but it is a very enlightening – and alarming – read. -- Hilary Ostrov,
The View From Here, 9 February 2012
