[epistasis]

Science has always been a human endeavor. The politics around mid-20th century physics is a similar minefield.

However, it's far more pure, than, say, typical SV venture capital.

Lander is widely known for being both a scientific and political heavyweight. He knows how to gain power, knows how to wield it, and uses it both to serve scientific goals and his own.

Such use of power has pushed forward science to some degree by allowing considerable economic resources to be applied in a focused manner. But it gets used for other purposes too, because Lander is still a human, and still makes mistakes.