The writer is a science commentator

The recipe for becoming a science and technology superpower involves more than simply excelling at science and technology. There is an overlooked ingredient that can tie a country’s research and development strategy together.

That essential staple is the social sciences, according to a report published last week by — surprise, surprise — the UK’s Academy of Social Sciences. While the government is having its head turned by shiny new technologies from AI to nuclear fusion, the report says, our leaders have much less to say on how the country’s globally admired proficiency in social sciences — which include such varied disciplines as business and management, geography, sociology and statistics — can help sculpt our future.