Wealth & Money Quote by Paul Nurse

The power in Paul Nurse's line is its refusal of the two most common origin myths in science: the genius sprung from privilege, and the lone striver who succeeds despite family. He splits the difference with a deliberately plain inventory of circumstances: "neither wealthy nor academic" lands as a quiet disqualification of inherited advantage, but "we lived comfortably" stops short of hardship theater. It's an ethic of accuracy, the scientist's habit applied to biography.

The key phrase is "extremely supportive", doing more cultural work than the economic qualifiers. Nurse isn't just crediting parental encouragement; he's pointing to a form of capital that's easier to overlook because it doesn't show up in bank accounts or alumni lists. Support becomes infrastructure: permission to take school seriously, emotional ballast through exams, the expectation that university is thinkable. That "both at school and university" matters, too, because working- and middle-class trajectories often narrow at the transition points, when aspiration needs translation into applications, fees, and confidence.

Subtextually, the quote nudges the meritocracy story without burning it down. Nurse doesn't deny effort; he reframes what effort needs in order to compound over time. Coming from a prominent scientist and Nobel laureate, the statement reads as a measured corrective aimed at policymakers and institutions as much as at readers: talent isn't rare, but sustained support is. It's a reminder that the pipeline isn't just about brilliance; it's about who gets steady reinforcement to keep walking forward.