Science Quote by Kary Mullis

Celebrity is supposed to be the antidote to dismissal, and Kary Mullis knew exactly how to weaponize that fact. "They can't pooh-pooh me now, because of who I am" isn’t a victory lap about evidence; it’s a sly admission that status, not argument, often determines whether an argument gets airtime. The childishness of "pooh-pooh" is doing work here: it mocks the gatekeepers who once waved him off and signals that the act of dismissal can be unserious, even petty, while still having real career consequences.

Mullis, best known for inventing PCR, spent his public life oscillating between icon and irritant. The line reads like a scientist translating an old social truth into lab-coat vernacular: scientific culture advertises meritocracy, but it runs on reputation, networks, and the soft power of being unignorable. "Because of who I am" is both flex and indictment. He’s not claiming his ideas became better; he’s saying the room’s willingness to listen changed once he became legible as Important.

The subtext is sharper given Mullis's controversial stances later on. He’s implying that credibility can become a kind of shield - against skepticism, against institutional friction, maybe against accountability. That’s why the quote lands: it captures the uneasy bargain of modern expertise, where a breakthrough can turn a person into a brand, and the brand starts to speak louder than the data.