There'll be more to say about her legacy in the days ahead - for example, on her mixed record on public spending, and how it compares with George Osborne's own plans for the state.

BBC: Margaret Thatcher: Economic legacy of an Iron Lady

The adviser, who couldn't speak on the record, recounted the story as an example of how statistics can easily become misleading.

NPR: Statistics the Weapon of Choice in Surge Debate

Roger Penrose, for example, has long been on record as arguing that it is quantum mechanics, not general relativity, that needs to be modified in order to successfully develop a grand unified theory.

FORBES: Physicists Seek A Divorce: Prying Gravity ... From Inertia