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(yesterday) Elon Musk sparks row at Royal Society but remains a member
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3e44ge0xnwo

EXCERPTS: . . . It is 150 years since a member of the Royal Society was ejected: That was German scientist and writer, Rudolf Eric Raspe, who was accused of theft and fraud. So the rift among the membership, caused by Mr Musk and his public pronouncements, could be an historic turning point for this most elite of scientific academies.

Two eminent scientists have resigned their fellowships in protest - Dr Dorothy Bishop of Oxford University and Prof Andrew Millar from University of Edinburgh. Both suggested that Elon Musk's actions were "incompatible" with the society's own code of conduct.

More than than 3,300 scientists also put their names to a letter, written by Prof Stephen Curry, emeritus professor of structural biology at Imperial College London, who is not a fellow, that expressed "deep concern" about the billionaire's fellowship and the society's "continued silence and apparent inaction" with regard to the controversy.

"As a private individual, he is free to say what he likes, but as a member of this club, he has a responsibility to promote excellence and promote the pursuit of truth," Prof Curry told the BBC. Prof Curry has not called for Mr Musk's removal explicitly but has said that a more open debate needs to be held.

[...] Fiona Fox is chief executive of the Science Media Centre, which works with journalists and scientists to promote "accurate, evidence-based information" in science coverage. She was elected as a Royal Society fellow in 2023.

Ms Fox told BBC News that she is concerned what is happening to the science community in the US, but questioned whether ejecting Musk would achieve the Royal Society's overall aims of educating and advancing scientific research.

"There are terrifying things being done in the US - removing data sets, taking web pages down of data. This is knowledge. This is universally owned. "There's a climate of fear in which people are self censoring. I mean, it's absolutely terrifying," she said... (MORE - missing details)

Elon Musk survives calls for expulsion from Britain’s elite Royal Society science institute
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europ...-institute

EXCERPTS: Tech billionaire Elon Musk has survived calls for his expulsion from the Royal Society following a crunch meeting at the elite British science institute. However, the roughly 150 members in attendance vowed to combat “misinformation and ideologically motivated attacks” on science following closed-door talks on March 3.

It came after more than 3,000 people including Nobel prize winners signed an open letter in February saying X owner Mr Musk had broken the Society’s code of conduct by promoting “unfounded conspiracy theories”.

[...] Before the meeting, the Society said members would discuss “the principles around public pronouncements and behaviours of fellows”.

The institute, which has 1,800 fellows and foreign members including 85 Nobel laureates, told AFP on March 4 that “all Fellows are listed on our website” – where Mr Musk’s profile still stands.

It added in a statement that at the meeting, the fellows agreed to step up efforts to defend “science and scientists at a time when these are under threat as never before”.

[...] Mr Musk now holds increasing sway in the White House as a close adviser to US President Donald Trump, and has been given sweeping powers to slash spending and overhaul government.

Professor Stephen Curry, author of the open letter and a professor of structural biology at Imperial College London, had said the debate was “not about policing political views”.

“I think the main charges that are troubling to many people is that Elon Musk has not shown respect for evidence,” he said.

[...] Ahead of the debate, Mr Musk had said “only craven, insecure fools care about awards and memberships”. AFP (MORE - missing details)

Geoffrey Hinton: https://x.com/geoffreyhinton/status/1896277592325714330

Elon's response: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1896281870318625243

Wake me when anyone else at the Royal Society lands humans on Mars.

At the present time, Elon is without a doubt the Royal Society's most prominent Fellow. Probably the only one of their Fellows that deserves the description 'World historical genius', the kind of person who (like Alexander the Great or Aristotle) is able to transform the planet single handed. It's true that he isn't a pure science guy. He's more of a technologist, an applications guy. Perhaps he compares more with Thomas Edison than Isaac Newton. A mix of Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie. A guy with visionary ideas and an historically unprecedented ability to turn those ideas into reality. That's not a bad thing.

What typically happens is that relatively unknown academics are inducted into the Royal Society, where the 'FRS' after their name adds greatly to their reputations. It puts them in the same club that Newton and Darwin were members of, and the more recent Fellows benefit by the association.

But Elon isn't like that. He's the world's richest man (all self made) worth about $350 billion. He controls Tesla, SpaceX, X, Neuralink, xAI and the relatively boring Boring Company (which just received the contract to build Dubai's subway). He presently provides America's only crew access to space. He flies the world's only reusable orbital class boosters which launch some 90% of the entire world's mass-to-orbit. Orbiting fuel depots and giant affordably practical lunar and interplanetary spaceships are coming. Starlink is revolutionizing world communications in underserved areas, is rolling out direct-to-cell service, and may be on its way to becoming the world's largest telecommunications company. The likely next NASA administrator will be a friend of his. He dominates electric vehicles in the US and Europe. Tesla Energy is transforming power grids with battery buffering. Self-driving cars and robots are coming. Revolutionary developments are coming for quadriplegics and potentially for amputees and the blind. Cyberpunk brain-computer interfaces (sci-fi's usb ports in heads) where you jack your sensory and motor cortex's directly into computer networks (like in the Matrix). Building the worlds most powerful AI. His X is probably the most influential social media platform in the world...

And right now he has the ear of the President of the United States who has enlisted him to redesign the US government. It probably isn't an exaggeration to call him the world's most influential man.

Elon doesn't really need the Royal Society to make his reputation in the way lesser known academics do. He made his impact on history all by himself. It will just be underscored if he takes humanity to Mars and out into the Solar System.

But the Royal Society arguably does need the prestige that their most illustrious present-day Fellow adds to their organization. They can only coast on Newton's and Darwin's centuries old reputations for so long. They need similar world-changing names today, and Elon gives them that.

100 or 200 years from now, how many present day Fellows of the Royal Society will still be remembered? (How many are known today outside tiny niche academic specialties?) While Elon almost certainly will be in the history books as one of the most transformative names of the first half of the 21'st century.

(Mar 5, 2025 12:11 AM)Yazata Wrote: [ -> ]Wake me when anyone else at the Royal Society lands humans on Mars.

At the present time, Elon is without a doubt the Royal Society's most prominent Fellow. Probably the only one of their Fellows that deserves the description 'World historical genius', the kind of person who (like Alexander the Great or Aristotle) is able to transform the planet single handed. It's true that he isn't a pure science guy. He's more of a technologist, an applications guy. Perhaps he compares more with Thomas Edison than Isaac Newton. A mix of Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie. A guy with visionary ideas and an historically unprecedented ability to turn those ideas into reality. That's not a bad thing.

What typically happens is that relatively unknown academics are inducted into the Royal Society, where the 'FRS' after their name adds greatly to their reputations. It puts them in the same club that Newton and Darwin were members of, and the more recent Fellows benefit by the association.

But Elon isn't like that. He's the world's richest man (all self made) worth about $350 billion. He controls Tesla, SpaceX, X, Neuralink, xAI and the relatively boring Boring Company (which just received the contract to build Dubai's subway). He presently provides America's only crew access to space. He flies the world's only reusable orbital class boosters which launch some 90% of the entire world's mass-to-orbit. Orbiting fuel depots and giant affordably practical lunar and interplanetary spaceships are coming. Starlink is revolutionizing world communications in underserved areas, is rolling out direct-to-cell service, and may be on its way to becoming the world's largest telecommunications company. The likely next NASA administrator will be a friend of his. He dominates electric vehicles in the US and Europe. Tesla Energy is transforming power grids with battery buffering. Self-driving cars and robots are coming. Revolutionary developments are coming for quadriplegics and potentially for amputees and the blind. Cyberpunk brain-computer interfaces (sci-fi's usb ports in heads) where you jack your sensory and motor cortex's directly into computer networks (like in the Matrix). Building the worlds most powerful AI. His X is probably the most influential social media platform in the world...

And right now he has the ear of the President of the United States who has enlisted him to redesign the US government. It probably isn't an exaggeration to call him the world's most influential man.

Elon doesn't really need the Royal Society to make his reputation in the way lesser known academics do. He made his impact on history all by himself. It will just be underscored if he takes humanity to Mars and out into the Solar System.

But the Royal Society arguably does need the prestige that their most illustrious present-day Fellow adds to their organization. They can only coast on Newton's and Darwin's centuries old reputations for so long. They need similar world-changing names today, and Elon gives them that.

100 or 200 years from now, how many present day Fellows of the Royal Society will still be remembered? (How many are known today outside tiny niche academic specialties?) While Elon almost certainly will be in the history books as one of the most transformative names of the first half of the 21'st century.

Elon doesn't do the Science, He's not a mad inventor (otherwise he'd be toiling away in a laboratory, not burning paperwork in a federal office).

He might pop up with some ideas, but it's really about having the funds to get other people to do the work. That makes him a middle management user (neither the creator or the consumer, just a middle guy reaping money on the inbetween.)

He's therefore not at the same level as a true Fellow of the Royal Society, just a donor.

While Musk does have undergraduate degrees in physics and economics, his "engineer" status is apparently as self-taught or academically uncredited as his computer skills.

His father was an electromechanical engineer, so possibly he picked up some early pointers from him. But that was a disaffected relationship. When Elon got beat-up by another student and hospitalized, his father took the bully's view of things: "The boy had just lost his father to suicide and Elon had called him stupid. Elon had a tendency to call people stupid. How could I possibly blame that child?"
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Is Elon Musk an engineer: "There are people who feel that he should not be considered an engineer because he doesn’t have a degree in engineering. However, Yale University and the University of Surrey in England have both bestowed upon him Honorary Doctorate Degrees in Engineering Technology and Aerospace Engineering, respectively. They recognize the contributions he has made to the engineering field in the last several years"
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https://www.clrn.org/does-elon-musk-have...ng-degree/

[...] Musk is often described as an autodidact, meaning he teaches himself through self-study and experimentation. He believes that formal education is not essential for success and has instead relied on his innate curiosity, entrepreneurial spirit, and ability to learn quickly. This unorthodox approach has allowed him to break away from traditional educational boundaries and focus on his passions.

[...] While Musk may not have a traditional engineering degree, he possesses a range of skills that have enabled him to succeed in his endeavors:

Strong understanding of physics and engineering principles: Musk has a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of physics, which has helped him design and develop innovative products, such as the Tesla Roadster.

Programming skills: Musk is proficient in several programming languages, including Python, C++, and Java, which has enabled him to create software and hardware solutions.

Business acumen: Musk has a strong understanding of finance, marketing, and management, which has helped him navigate the business world.

Leadership skills: As CEO of multiple companies, Musk has demonstrated his ability to lead teams and manage complex projects.