Just over a year ago, I wrote about the “chainsaw massacre” being perpetrated by Elon Musk and his acolytes at DOGE. At the time, these were the most visible elements – the most visible outrages – of the Trump Administration’s war on science and coupled to the beginnings of the anti-DEI ouster, suggested two initial impulses at work: a backlash firstly against the data-driven nature of scientific decision-making (anathema to those who wish to do as they will, unencumbered by facts, details, or restraints), and secondly against merit-based advancement (because education is the great equaliser and facilitates promotion through ability rather than patronage).