Will Brexit wreck British science? Or be its saviour? Opinions, of course, are mixed on this point. However, Sir Andre Geim, Nobel Laureate for the discovery of graphene (the levitating frog was fun too) seems to be a bit lacking in logic department here:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Sir Andre revealed that his close collaborator Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov, with whom he shared the Nobel prize for physics in 2010, had left their base in Manchester, where they discovered graphene, after the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. “Konstantin has already left the UK to work in Singapore,” he said. “I think that tells you everything you need to know.”[/perfectpullquote]Err, yes, suppose so. Very clever man – Nobel Laureate no less – proves that it’s not necessary to be inside the European Union to do good science by going outside the European Union to do good science.
That is, obviously, what you meant Sir Andre, isn’t it?
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See also the late Prof. Hawking, that cockwomble who accused the Home Secretary of racism and Prof. Spud of Islington Technical College.
Of course, the last two are not anywhere near Nobel Laureates but long march and all that.
Geography isn't his specialist subject. And outside of his own area, he's as ignorant as most of us.
A Labour politician (forget which one, all so boringly similar nowadays) recently opined that the UK must not become like Singapore. No reason given, probably a case of xenophobic racism or maybe just sucessophobia.
I think he means hugely successful obviously through doing right wing stuff so that nobody will listen to idiot Lefties who want to make us poor.
The Internet being that thing designed to allow scientists in different geolocations to cooperate, share data, ideas, etc.
One suspects that the leaving and the referendum were coincidental rather than causal.
Excellent analysis.