Jennifer Marohasy

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CSIRO Boss: Self-confessed “Scientific Numbskull”

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I woke up this morning a bit late, turned on the radio, and the first thing I heard was an ABC journalist referring to the new Australian of the Year as a self-confessed “scientific numbskull”.   I left the radio on just long enough to hear Simon McKeon confirm that he is indeed a “scientific numbskull”.  Then I turned the radio off.  

Enough bad news for one day I thought.

According to the Oxford Dictionary a numbskull is a stupid or foolish person.  But we know that Mr McKeon is not generally a foolish person.  He has managed to amass a great deal of wealth and play Australian politics so successfully that the Prime Minister recently nominated him our inspiration.

What I think Mr McKeon means is that he doesn’t know very much about science – that we shouldn’t expect him to be able to answer any hard scientific questions. 

Mr McKeon was recently appointed the head of the CSIRO – Australia’s premier scientific organization.   

Imagine if the head of one of our big banks, said she was a “financial numbskull”?  We wouldn’t tolerate it.  

So why is it OK for CSIRO to have as its head a “scientific numbskull”? 

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http://jennifermarohasy.com/blog/2011/01/2011-australian-of-the-year-simon-mckeon/

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. val majkus says

    this is the most informative news article I’ve seen about the new CSIRO head
    http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/life-science-20100627-zbuk.html
    The new chairman of CSIRO, the nation’s science and research powerhouse, knows pretty much bugger all about pure science. But it’s hard to think of anyone better for the job. Simon McKeon is one of Australia’s most talented leaders, with a pedigree across business, government and non-profit
    …
    (by the way he’s on a 5 year contract as was his predecessor)

    I don’t really mind that he’s not a scientist but he has AGW beliefs and I would have preferred (if I had any say which I didn’t) someone neutral in that respect

  3. Dennis Webb says

    Val, Why is it OK for him to know nothing about science? You expect, as Jen says, the head of a bank, to know something about banking.

  4. Mr Koala says

    Its actually difficult to think of anyone less suited for this role.

    Can you imagine President Obama introducing the new chief of NASA at a media gathering who then blurts our that he is a “complete numbskull” when it comes to science.

    Imagine the head of the Reserve Bank announcing he is a complete numbskull about financial matters or the head of the Institute of sport teling us their credentials include being a numbskull about all aspects of sport.

    The very last thing Australia needs is Mr Mckeon wrecking what is left of a once-prestigius scientific organisation by enforcing his misguided social agenda.

  5. Neville says

    But history is full of misguided, ( some evil )delusional people who sometimes believe in silly nonsense but are otherwise very intelligent.

    It’s a state of mind or a case of wanting to believe in something because it fits ones prejudice on a particular subject or perhaps political leaning.

    Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot or Castro were not stupid or unintelligent, but all were ruthless psychopaths who felt compelled to manipulate/ control the citizens of their countries and elsewhere as well.

    In modern jargon it was their way or the highway and anyone who blocked their path could be quickly dispatched because they were against the common good of the nation.

    Obviously McKeon isn’t an evil person like the above but he can still want to change his world for the better (?) even though he may understand very little about his chosen fairy tale.

  6. Polyaulax says

    In answer to your question, it wouldn’t matter whether CSIRO was headed by a PhD festooned polymath,you still wouldn’t like what they are saying about AGW,would you?

    At least the man has no pretentions,and I’d suggest he has a few financial and administrative skills….

  7. debbie says

    The comments are now closed at that link Val but they’re an interesting read.
    Simon McKeon has answered every one of them.
    I’m with you Val. His skills lie in administration and heading departments and organisations.
    It is a worry that he is a stated AGW stalwart.

  8. Koalabear says

    The point is that this “jolly good chap” has massive underlying pretentions. He is one of those insufferable people who just knows what is best for everyone else. One of those people who have great self confidence but cannot see the damage they cause by supposedly managing enterprses without even a basic knowledge of the core business.

    Best if he quietly resigned from the CSIRO and went off sailing his boat, or got an appropriate position in the financial industry. Or he might try to address his obvious deficiencies by enrolling in physics 101.

  9. Avatar photojennifer says

    Mr Simon McKeon has acknowledged he is a scientific illiterate. There is no shame in going back to class and learning the basics. Julia Gillard is into education. Simon McKeon would be setting a good example if he enrolled in basic physics and chemistry. Good leadership is based on personal example.

  10. lmwd says

    Early days with this one, but like Val (thanks for the link again), I would have wanted someone a little more neutral on AGW. Some of his statements could be viewed as hopeful, and others leave me feeling a little nervous.

    Let’s hope his religious beliefs comes with a strong commitment to moral decisions-making – that is, deception/falsifying data is NEVER ok, even if for a perceived ‘noble cause’.

    He doesn’t come across as a misanthropist, so perhaps he will incorporate into his calculations the real cost to lives and quality of life for people (here and in developing nations) if science is erroneously used to back solutions that may cause more harm than the original problem itself.

    When it comes to leading, it’s intelligence and integrity that matter, however, he needs to learn enough about the science to make sure the CSIRO, as an institution, is not put at reputational risk pursuing an ideological/political agenda at the expense of science and knowledge.

    Many of these established institutions are having their credibility questioned – take the MET office for example, NIWA in NZ, with their actions being perceived as propagandist or motivated by financial considerations. I hear it around me with my colleagues putting scientists in the same bracket as politicians and used car salesmen – credibility and trust are being eroded.

    McKeon has an opportunity now to make sure CSIRO is seen as an unbiased scientific organisation based in sound scientific findings – EMPERICAL EVIDENCE. Their longevity will rest on the capacity to stand above current fashionable thinking, political and social pressure.

  11. rukidding says

    I think a lot of you are missing the point here.Mr McKeon is a business man and from what I read a very successful one.He knows how to run a business.That is any business be it making nails to making scientific progress.He does not need to know the science he has experts to do that for him.His job is to make sure the business does not fail.
    Now before you bite my head off go and see how many board chairmen of Australia’s 100 largest companies have any experience in the technical side of their companies.See how many pilots or engineers are on the board of Qantas.
    His belief in AGW no doubt helped in his appointment.

  12. val majkus says

    I’m prepared to be persuaded but what experience did Nugget Coombs or Malcolm Turnbull before each were voted to the respective boards of banks (and in the case of Nugget to the Board of RBA)

    In relation to McKeon well he’s a Labor Govt appointee (so was Nugget Coombs) and CSIRO is a business

    so what’s wrong in having a business appointee

    If he were a science appointee then the science would have to reflect his leanings

    As I say I’m prepared to be persuaded

  13. val majkus says

    If you look for Coombs in Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._C._Coombs
    he did have an economics degree
    Turnbull didn’t (so far as I recall he was on the board of Macquarie Bank)
    but I may be wrong

    I suppose my point is that a scientist or a business man in charge of CSIRO (and it is a business after all) I’d prefer a business man; after all there are enough scientists there and if a scientist were in charge then he or she might promote only research which he or she approved of

    maybe it all comes down to what does a CEO do
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer
    The responsibility of the chief executive officer is to align the company, internally and externally, with his or her strategic vision. The core duty of a CEO is to facilitate business outside of the company while guiding employees and other executive officers towards a central objective. The size and sector of the company will dictate the secondary responsibilities. A CEO must have a balance of internal and external initiatives to build a sustainable company.[2]

    For corporations, the chief executive officer primarily coordinates external initiatives at a high level. As there are many other c-level executives (e.g. marketing, information, technical, financial etc.), seldom do corporate CEOs have low-level functions.
    For emerging entrepreneurs, their acting position as a CEO is much different than that on the corporate level. As often other c-level executives are not incorporated in small operations, it is the duty of the CEO (and sometimes founder) to assume those positions.
    Mid-sized companies borrow from corporate and entrepreneurial CEO responsibilities. There will not be all c-level positions available so the CEO must compensate for gaps either through delegating or assuming additional responsibility.
    In many states, when an organization incorporates it is necessary to specify individuals in the role of president, treasurer, and secretary with the proviso that the person nominated as president cannot also hold the position of treasurer.[citation needed] But often a person can be specified as secretary/treasurer.

  14. val majkus says

    AND my last point is how many economic illiterates has Aust had as Treasurer (who were prepared to act on their own rather than calling in the Head of Treasury for political credibility_
    Most of the Labor appointees so far as I know have come from Union Backgrounds
    But I’m ready to be persuaded

  15. Neville says

    I’ll let Bolt sum up McKeon’s reason for his belief in CAGW, it’s a real lulu.

    I mean we all have to concede that a days or twos poor sailing is hardly the reason to suddenly believe in this mad new cult.

    He’s no doubt a decent, kind and generous man but I’m still more than a tad concerned about his judgement and commonsense.

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_the_csiro_chairmans_yacht_no_measure_of_global_warming

  17. rukidding says

    Simon Mckeon is not the CEO he is the board chairman.A quick google would indicate that the CSIRO does not have a CEO.They have a chief executive and that is Dr Megan Clark.

  19. hunter says

    No wonder the global warming hysterics look to the CSIRO for so much inspiration. The leadership style fits right in.

  22. cohenite says

    The CSIRO is a joke; its primary mission statement is to help Australia cope with AGW; for the CSIRO the ‘science is settled’; so McKeon should fit right in. 2 of the best critiques of the dreadful state of the CSIRO have been by former employees, Art Raiche:

    http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/csiro_heavy_says_dont_trust_csiros_scares/

    And the late, sadly missed Ian Castles:

    http://climateaudit.org/2008/07/24/csiro-archives-data/

    As for Megan Clark, a geologist by trade; she has toed the company line in a number of speeches made about AGW, carbon trading and the like; the best that can be said about her is that she doesn’t put her foot in her mouth to the extent that Penny Sackett does.

  23. val majkus says

    Bemused; thanks for putting us right
    now what’s the difference between what a chairman does and what a CEO does … I’ll check in wikki

    The chairman is the highest office of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly
    CEO is the corporate executive responsible for the operations of the firm; reports to a board of directors; may appoint other managers

    The CSIRO Board is responsible to the Australian Government for the overall strategy, governance and performance of CSIRO
    List of Board members is here http://www.csiro.au/org/Board.html

    there’s an accountant and solicitor and BA/Economic degrees holder

    cohenite thanks so much for that climateaudit link; great reading!

  24. Luke says

    All part of inexorable journey from science quality to managerialism. Sigh. Blame Harvard Business School.

  25. koalabear says

    Bill Gates was an accomplished mathematician and programmer before he went into business and co-founded Microsoft.

    Eddie Groves was a milkman before he became the CEO of ABC Learning and now faces 20 years in prison.

    It probably does help to have some clue about the business you are supposed to be managing.

  26. John Sayers says

    CSIRO has a real problem as it continually discovers new inventions that require skilled economists to negotiate the royalties.

  29. Malcolm Hill says

    John,

    I would have thought that economists, skilled or other wise, were the last people one needed to commercialise inventions and do deals. Also royalty streams are only one of a number of options in a deal mix.

    I dont have a problem with the Chairman being skilled and successful business man but I do have a problem when he is appointed to the job AFTER making some quite dopey statements, that reveal his greenoid biases.

    The embedded greenoids in the CSIRO will no doubt be heartened by his comments.

  31. Keith says

    So, two people out of the nine members of the CSIRO board have scientific qualifications.
    This might be a higher representation than exists in Australian society generally, but no where near enough for a scientific organisation.

  32. chrisl says

    Something wierd happening on the internet. Luke getting involved in a stoush with all the regulars over at Deltoid. He is their worst nightmare. Somebody who knows his stuff but won’t buy the alarmism or so called solutions. They have had to resort to calling him names.
    Go Luke you good thing!

  33. el gordo says

    I always knew comrade Luke was one of us, he gave to Jen’s tip jar when she was on walkabout.

  34. el gordo says

    Here’s a comment from Bernard J over at Deltoid.

    ‘Luke, are you the same Luke who stands toe-to-toe against the numpties at Marohasy’r Bog? I find it hard to believe that you are, considering the concern troll mantle that you wear here.’

    He is doing an excellent job on his own, but I would love to join the stoush – alas, the gatekeeper knows me on sight.

  35. Luke says

    One is reminded of Alien (1979) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojhGdRSkiUw

    Ash: You still don’t understand what you’re dealing with, do you? The perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.

    Lambert: You admire it.

    Ash: I admire its purity. A survivor … unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.

    P.S. They think I’m trolling but I’m not.

    P.P.S. Blame Ian Mott – he taught me everything

  37. el gordo says

    jakerman is really Janet Akerman, notoriously cleaver at boring people to death. Very argumentative and known to tipple.

  39. hunter says

    Luke,
    I will start speaking to you as if you were the same Luke who is posting at Deltoid.
    I had no idea that you were more than a cartoon troll doll.
    Now if you could post as the ‘Luke’ you are at Deltoid…….
    And good luck if you are in harm’s way for this cyclone. It looks like it will be a real storm, as people on the US Gulf Coast might understate.

  41. cohenite says

    So, Deltoid luke, what is it with you and this jakerman person; it sounds personal; come on, what’s the goss?

  42. Luke says

    Well Cohers as you know I’ve always argued here for the unsung climate scientists doing the serious work and defending them against you lot. But crazy green ideologues also need a reality check.

    I did say over at Deltoid:

    “(1) AGW is a hazard worthy of risk management (among others) (2) But so is natural variability i.e. El Nino, La Nina and interdecadal variation (can you see an AGW rainfall signal out there yet?) (3) We need more precision in our AGW messages (4) We don’t need to be alarmist on non alarmist – we need to get it right (5) I’m up for a carbon tax on a major emitters all-in agreement (6) “new” nuclear probably needs to be part of that mix if we’re going to bring most of our country-men along (7) yes I’ve changed my light bulbs, recycle my aluminium, power manage my PC and have turned off the stand-by power too (hypocrisy and guilt) but am also a major emitter in other ways – let who is without sin etc….”

    I added to part 5 – that that would be a significant majority of the G20 countries.

    So I guess I’m argumentative, opinionated, pro-envionment, but also pro-agriculture and not deep green at all. But I let you think that. Looking for some reasonable mix that brings everyone along. And became concerned about drought over farm suicides. And we need to know whether the last 100 years is enough of a sample for the next 50 and what the odds are. All about risk management.