Lowe is known and (probably rightly, on average) lauded for his frankness in light of his expertise. He's sort of the chemistry equivalent of a Raymond Chen or

Lowe is known and (probably rightly, on average) lauded for his frankness in light of his expertise. He's sort of the chemistry equivalent of a Raymond Chen or John Carmack. I like him a lot overall, but I think he badly failed to "read the room" in this particular case.