Science Quote by Bjorn Lomborg

There is a practiced calm in Lomborg's recounting of getting flayed by Nature: he translates "very scathing" into the cleaner, more legally and socially portable "essentially calling me incompetent", then adds the telling caveat, "though they didn't use that word". It's an accusation about accusation, a way of reframing critique as character assassination without quite alleging malice. The subtext is less "they disagree with my methods" and more "they're trying to disqualify me."

The choice of venue matters. Nature isn't just another outlet; it's a gatekeeper with symbolic power in science culture. Invoking it signals that the fight isn't merely over facts but over legitimacy. Lomborg then pivots to a strategy that blends scientific posture with public-relations instinct: he will respond "on my Web site", "paragraph by paragraph". That phrase performs rigor and transparency, the lab-coat version of receipts. But moving the rebuttal off the journal page is also a power move: he controls framing, length, audience, and timing. It turns peer review's closed-loop authority into a public contest of persuasion.

The intent is twofold: to reassure supporters that he's not shaken, and to imply that his opponents' case won't survive sustained scrutiny. It's also a subtle bid to widen the arena. By treating a journal review as something that merits an online, line-by-line takedown, Lomborg recasts a disciplinary judgment as a political media event, where credibility is won not only by methods but by performance.