Scientists versus politicians

Governments have a history of not listening to their scientific advisersIn 1632, the Italian observer Galileo advised the highest temporal authority that the Earth went round the sun. He was promptly prosecuted by the Inquisition and, in 1633, forced to retract his advice. Famously, Galileo was proved right and the Vatican looked silly for the next 300 years.This story – like the clash between David Nutt, until last week chairman of the advisory council for the misuse of drugs, and the health secretary Alan Johnson – illustrates the pitfalls that face any government scientific adviser: it can be dangerous and even counter-productive to tell popes, princes or politicians something that they do not want to hear. But if you publish your objective advice so that everyone knows what you said, then its value can be assessed and confirmed independently, and in the long run everybody wins. The catch is that...

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