Gil Smart harrumphs “Identity politics crowds out science, all because of a shirt”:
“The London-born, tattoo-covered Dr. Taylor is lead project scientist for the European Space Agency’s Error! Hyperlink reference not valid., which earlier this month landed the Philae probe on a comet 300 million miles from Earth. Other scientists likened it to landing a fly on a bullet.
“But let’s talk about his shirt.
“During televised live coverage of the event, Taylor wore a funky, colorful — and to some, offensive — Hawaiian shirt featuring drawings of scantily clad women brandishing guns. It was, er, not the kind of thing you’d wear to the office. And Taylor was quickly informed that he shouldn’t have worn it to the office…
“Upbraiding Taylor and what his shirt supposedly stands for becomes more important than praising the achievement; indeed, the achievement cannot be praised until Taylor and the rest of us are educated on the real issue here.”
WATCHDOG: Here is some news for certain feminist critics: Scientific geniuses are different from the rest of us. Among other things, they don’t sit around watching TV and reading newspapers absorbing the current social norms, also known as zeitgeist.
We blame his support staff, the reporter and photographers for not suggesting he change his shirt. It would have been the kind and constructive thing to do.
This fellow lives in a separate and important world. Give him a pass.
