Needham's reaction to this was merely to say that it was, "better to have something than nothing at all," which Professor Ho sees as an example of his magnanimity.
何丙郁教授據此形容李約瑟「一生不說人壞話的個性」。但問另一些漢學家，則有相當不同的看法，一位漢學家即表示：「李約瑟的成就非比尋常，但他在政治上的看法，未免天真得像個孩子。」